The Hawaiian Chef

I was impressed with the freshness and variety in our box! Delicious fruits and veggies, I would invest in another if pick up was closer.

I am a Farmer’s market vendor. We were forced to affiliate with a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) veggie box program to compete with the Hawaiian Chef after being located near her at most every venue we sell at and being witness to the horrible service she provided, embarrassing every vendor around her and the market itself. Heck, WE even bought a Living Social voucher and unbeknownst to her we tried to follow her system to order and confirm our box to no avail. We finally got a refund after we went to her location and demanded our box, she was rude, turned her back on us and continued her conversation on her cell phone. She didn’t realize we were another vendor until we started coming to the Royal Hawaiian Center by invitation as new vendors and when she made her usual hour late appearance to avoid voucher holders, there we were. Wah wah waaaahhh.
At first, when folks started coming around the market looking for «Juanita» with Groupon or Living Social vouchers and she was an hour late and came to us for information about where she was we figured she was just busy and told folks to give her a chance and it should all work out fine. as vendors we try to take care of each other and know that we all have lives outside of the market. We did see some folks interacting with «Juanita» and walking away with a big bag of produce and eggs she keeps in the hot sun. And happy. We finally figured out that she DOES have a following of people who subscribe to her veggie bag,(Not box) paying regular price that she caters to. Those who have the vouchers she has set up a complex system whereas you call and no one calls you back, you can go to her website and click the «Order» button and the link is broken, or you track her down at one of her few locations and she is rude and turns you away. Last evening at the Royal Hawaiian Center Farmer’s Market there were no fewer than five people who had appointments with her, some of them drove from across the island looking for her and she was a complete NO SHOW ! To say they were angry after going through her gauntlet to get a reservation was an understatement. I felt embarrassed for them.
At this point we had it. The manager of the market had it. Because of Juanita, it was giving the market and CSA vendors in general a bad name. We have never bad-​mouthed a fellow vendor but this is one bad pineapple that needs to go.
For each person that showed up with a voucher and she was not there, we offered a brochure for competing CSA programs to choose from, (We are a pickup point, we don’t administer or directly profit from them) provided the same information we had to arrange for a refund from Living Social or Groupon. We also made an introduction to the Market Manager so that they would have every opportunity to somehow make contact with Juanita as the Manager may have had information that she was sick, stranded, lost, etc. and it wasn’t us that gave erroneous information or being her competition of sorts (Not directly) that we were trying to harm her business. (She has done a great job of that on her own)
At the end of the evening we turned in our information to the Manager and was informed The Hawaiian Chef would no longer be coming to the Royal Hawaiian Center Farmer’s Market. At this point as far as we know the only location she has for pick-​ups is the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet, an her location changes weekly. We have been happy with
and pick up every other week. Give Island Farmers a chance, you will be glad you did.

I was excited to find organic product and then disappointed in the lack of service.
I ordered a Livingsocial voucher. I call three times with no return calls. I decided to try and track her down at some of her locations so I could ask question. First week I went to the Royal Hawaiian Center on Tuesday which she was a no show, then I went to the Aloha stadium on Sunday to see about my veggie box. I found her stall after forty-​five minutes of searching hidden in the A roll. The temperature was 85 and she was keeping her eggs on a table with no refrigerating. The product bags on the ground with ants all around. I wasn’t impressed with the way she keeps her products. I walked up to her and said I had called three separate times in a fifteen day period with no return phone call. I asked how was I to how to use my voucher if no one returned calls. She responded with I just had to wait until someone called me back. She said my name was not on her list and turned her back and walked off. She is a rude woman with no customer service skills.
I called living social and told them my experience with her. I was given my money back. I do not recommend the Hawaiian chef nor will she get my business in the future.

We knew we won’t be able to do much organic gardening when my pregnancy was confirmed so looked around for CSA near Salt Lake. Our 1^st Haw Chef Groupon pick up was @ Royal Hawaiian shopping center on 7÷10÷12. We waited an hour because Haw chef arrived late. Our subsequent Sunday late morning pick up @ Aloha Stadium swap meet have been pleasant. Our $ 25 box has 1 dozen free range eggs (at least $ 5 @ grocery store) with disproportionately large yolks are very tasty & fluffy. We get veges that cost $ 4/​bunch @ grocery stores (kale & watercress — often available). Their pineapples & apple banana are small but very sweet! My husband & my dad like their lilikoi vinaigrette dressing & lilikoi BBQ dressing (choose 1 bottle/​week). That would easily cost $ 6/​bottle at Halawa farmers market. We like the regular supply of green onion & Chinese parsley we use as «fresh spice.» The other veges are also fresh & crunchy. We just have to keep an eye on cooking those that have shorter shelf life first. Juanita also says she can swap out veges we don’t eat but do far we like the variety & want baby to get used to different flavors.
P. S. I recognize Juanita from her poi battered fish & chips booth at annual Haw Scottish Festival

Disclaimer: the 4 star rating above is based on our single experience we had with Hawaiian Chef, and in all fairness, it was a good one time experience. This is just an update on what my currents thought are, now that we have tried OTHER co-​ops. I am now totally aware that THC pales in comparison to other co-​ops in freshness, value and customer service. Had this not been our first co-​op experience, the rating would have been a lot lower. I mean no harm to this business, in fact, I’m all for supporting small local businesses, especially local farms. But I am just stating fact when I say that there are many other co-​ops out there that do provide you with extremely fresh and beautiful produce, in fact, more of it for less money, with warm and friendly service. I’d like for all local co-​ops to succeed, and for more people to buy locally, supporting our local farmers, so I do hope that THC is able to improve their scheduling and pick up processes and give a little more aloha to their customers, as I know they can since we were fortunately on the receiving end of that.

well, i wish i could comment on the quality of the produce, the experience of picking up my order, or my interaction with the staff. unfortunately, i have emailed the company twice trying to make a reservation for my groupon and pickup time, asking for a confirmation, to no avail. this is extremely irritating, as i have a tight schedule and cannot just show up and wait around for my order to be filled without a confirmation. i’ve specifically asked to PLEASE confirm my pick up time twice– nothing. even checked my spam box.
based on the other reviews here, i may as well contact groupon and get my money back. too bad, because we try to always buy local produce, and i was hoping to be a regular customer.

I first learned of The Hawaiian Chef from Groupon! They do a fantastic deal of $ 25 for $ 50, we often get a very, very big box… it’s definitely worth more than $ 25, but I’m not quite sure if it’s worth $ 50…but that’s fine with me!
I have since bought quite a few (whenever they appear on Groupon) because I really enjoy their lilikoi dressing, produce, and fresh eggs.
My only qualms are that the produce tends to go bad VERY quickly (like within 2 – 3 days), which to me means that they give us produce that is ripe to over ripe.

As a big believer in supporting local farms and businesses, I really was excited to find the half price ($ 25 for $ 50) Groupon deal. Purchased two coupons. Based on my first experience I might have given Hawaiian Chef a better rating, although I definitely did not think my Luau box was $ 50 worth of produce
My second time picking up a box was two months later, and helped me decide I would not give Hawaiian Chef my business again, nor recommend them to anyone else.
1) Awkward reservation system. The first time response was prompt, but the second time I wrote twice and never received a confirmation. I just showed up anyhow, which was fine, since no matter when you go you’ll have to wait.
2) Long wait for the box to be put together. Both times I went there were no other customers, but still had to wait twenty minutes.
3) They definitely need a checklist of the things they intend to put in the box. They sort of just arbitrarily grab things and throw them in there. Although the same offerings for produce were available on my second visit, I received much less than I did the first time. Things aunty (Juanita?) told me were in the box weren’t, but I didn’t find out until I got home and unpacked it. I noticed before I left she was forgetting the specialty item, and I felt greedy asking for it — but I didn’t want to go home without the Lilikoi dressing!
Everyone’s allowed their «off» days, but the attitude was entirely different my second visit. I only received a half dozen eggs, when I was pretty sure I had gotten a full dozen on my first visit. When I ask about it the response is: «it’s always been a half dozen» but now looking through other reviews and seeing some people got a dozen too, I feel like I was lied to.
Will definitely be looking for other local businesses to support.

I really wanted to try this business, but after trying numerous times to contact them via email and phone, I gave up… they never returned my calls even though I left a voice message and never returned my emails. You can’t expect to run a successful business if you aren’t there for your customers. I called Groupon and got credits refunded to my account instead of waste my time and effort working with this group. SORRY, but ME THINKS NOT!!! :)

3÷2÷12: Finally overcame the difficulty with making and confirming a reservation. The first-​Friday Farmer’s Market in Kakaako was cancelled (no notice on their website) but they agreed to deliver to my office downtown. I posted a photo of what was delivered, it includes: dozen eggs, one pineapple, two green peppers, two cilantro bunches, two green onion bunches, two heads of romaine lettuce, one zucchini, one bunch of chinese cabbage, 16oz of lilikoi dressing, three tomatoes and four bananas. I’ll update my review after I’ve been able to consume the veggies!
3÷5÷12: Liliikoi dressing is quite tasty and makes up for the bland flavorless tomatoes.

An enormous hassle that is SO not worth it.
Organic produce is less than half this price at Whole Foods. The LivingSocial, Groupon, etc. deals are just come ons to lure you in.
If you purchased this via Groupon, I suggest you do as I did: Email Groupon customer service. They will credit your account cheerfully and promptly.
BEWARE!

Last time I said I would recommend the Groupon as a good deal, in spite of the poor service that accompanies it. Having waded once more through a proprietary sea of poor service and needless waiting to get my most recent produce box, I can now say without a doubt that the quality and quantity of produce has decreased deplorably. Having picked up 5 boxes from the Hawaiian Chef previously, I feel that I am in a good position to judge the historical trending of this business. The trend is: from bad to worse.
Saying that the box is worth $ 50 is deliberately misleading. By my fair estimation the value of the items in my most recent box is approximately equal to the cost of the Groupon:
Item Estimated Value
1 tiny pineapple $ 2.00
5 apple banannas $ 2.00
1 maui onion $ 0.75
1 cucumber $ 1.00
1 medium cabbage $ 2.50
2 green bell peppers $ 2.00
1 zucchini $ 1.50
1 head of Romaine Lettuce $ 3.00
1 head of Green Leaf Lettuce $ 2.00
2 japanese eggplant $ 1.75
1 small bunch of Chinese parsley $ 1.00
less than a pint of cherry tomatoes $ 3.00
1 Okinawan sweet potato $ 1.50
5.4 oz bottle of dressing* $ 2.00
*(used to be approx 16 oz. bottle)
No eggs (used to get 12 eggs)
No bread
Total $ 26.00
Now add in the hassle associated with scheduling a pickup, the mandatory 20 minutes for your box to be assembled while you wait, the fact that you have no choice in what goes into (or rather does not go into) your box, and the lackluster customer service, and it is plain that this is not a «deal.»

** UPDATE — response from company below, and they did offer a refund on return of produce so that’s something. **
BUYER BEWARE! The photo the other reviewer left asking if we thought it was worth $ 50 actually got MORE than the crappy box I JUST PICKED UP from Makiki Famers Market via the latest Unilocal deal. I am so disappointed I’ve almost got writers block… First of all I got there right at the start so they can’t claim to have been out of the good stuff. They are very disorganized and work at a snails pace — seriously slow folks try it and you’ll see. My box has;
1 avg pineapple
2 beat up and small eggplants
2 beat up large green peppers
1 avg cabbage
1 VERY VERY small head of broccoli
1 small plastic cup of grape tomatoes
2 small bok choy
1 long leaf lettice that is so wilted and dirty it probably wont make it
1 small bunch of cilantro
6 eggs
1 small Lilikoi dressing
THERE IS NO F’ing WAY THIS IS $ 50 WORTH OF STUFF.
I WISH THERE WAS A ZERO STAR OR NEGATIVE RATING OPTION! Bottom line, I’ll never trust you again.
** RESPONSE TO EMAIL INQUIRY **
«All the produce you received today in your box is sold at Whole foods, Down to Earth, Town Restaurant, Roy’s Restaurant and other establishments who know how difficult it is to find fresh, healthy, local grown produce that is no mono cropped, gmo, or other chemically controlled produce that sells for half the price because of cheap and unhealthy farming practices that allow them to under cut and fool the people that their food is what you should be buying because of it low value.
We have only 4 local commercial egg farms in the whole State of Hawaii. Our egg farm, Maili Moa is the only commercial free range egg farm in the State of Hawaii and we raise currently less than 3000 chickens and try to provide a aupply for a population of over 1 million people. We have no commercial fresh poultry farms in Hawaii because the cost of imported feed is 4 times higher because of shipping costs. Hawaii imports 100% of all small livestock feed from other states and countries. The cost of local eggs have risen because of this and we do not have local feed mills servicing the our small local livestock farms. The cost to ship between the neighbor islands where most of our truly local produce is grown is as high if not higher than shipments that come in from California.
We have developers currently taking over Agricultural grade A land for luxury housing projects but a critical decline of food farmlands and food farmers who are unable to maintain a living enough to raise their families.»
«We have been fighting this uphill battle with little support, appreciation and yet we work in field from dawn to dusk, try to provide for our fiamilies and watch as others who have never invested in the centuries of hard work and care for our community when there was no ships with import food and money was not the means of providing for our people.
Here is the pricing for each item in your box:
Pineapple– $ 6
Dressing — $ 5
Eggs — $ 4
Tomatoes — $ 4
Eggplant — $ 3
Green Bell Pepper — $ 3
Cabbage — $ 3.50
4 corn -$ 3.50
Zucchin — $$ 2.50
Okinawan Sweet Potatoe– $ 3
Brocolli -$ 2
Romaine Lettuce — $ 3
Green Leaf Lettuce– $ 2
Cilantro -$ 2
Banana-​$ 2
General Excise Tax — $ 2.28
Grand total: $ 50.78
We offer this to all our customers, discounted to help people understand why Hawaii farmers will continue to struggle to feed the people of Hawaii. We are not just doing this to use it as a tool to gather loyal customers, it is to bring awareness why the cost of food is so high in Hawaii. Most local people appreciate and understand the discount because they have been so used to these costs we don’t realize we need to ask ourselves how can we change this problem.»
NOW, for the record, I DID NOT get corn, zucchini, or bananas. The dressing is a tiny bottle (VERY TASTY BUT TINY). I guess I’m at fault for assuming I was getting a DEAL with a direct from farm purchase. I didn’t realize I was really paying more for less as a social statement. I love the idea of supporting ANY local business in these islands and usually am willing to pay the «Hawaii prices», but this goes both ways folks! I go WAY OUT OF MY WAY to spend with businesses I love — Cinnimins Kailua, He’eia Pier General Store and Deli Kaneohe, and on and on and on. You need to put out a good value to offset some of the hassle involved in the shopping process otherwise the trendiness of that box of stuff just pulled from the ground will wear off and we’ll go down to Wholefoods — same prices right? Clean and pretty looking, great staff to help us out?
THC staff /​owners /​family, I appreciate your history in the islands and really commend you for being in the challenging business you have chosen. That being said, and because of the hard work it is, doesn’t it deserve just a little more effort to not only gain a customer but keep those that do shop with you telling all thier friends IT IS WORTH the drive and parking hassle and long wait?

DO NOT BUY GROUPON!
I bought one for a box and I ended up receiving a bag!
These people have no idea what they are doing. I’ve volunteered in foodbanks that were more stocked and efficient!
Definitely not worth the $ 25 I paid for the Groupon. I could have gotten at least 3 bags full of a variety of produce from Chinatown for that amount.

«Disappointing» is the word that best describes my first and probably last encounter with The Hawaiian Chef.
I like supporting local business and eating locally grown produce. So I was interested to see a Groupon for The Hawaiian Chef. The offer was for a $ 50 value box of produce for $ 25 – their choice of what to include. I’ve shopped enough farmer’s market produce to know $ 50 worth, and this wasn’t it. Sadly, several items were also past their prime. This «deal» is only a winner for the vendor, and seems to be a way to palm off older stuff on unsuspecting buyers.
Another problem with this vendor was that despite placing my order over a week in advance, and getting confirmation from them THREE times that my order would be ready, it was not. It took a good 20 minutes for them to pack my small order. Come on!!!
If you’re still considering buying produce from The Hawaiian Chef, do yourself a big, big favor and forget the Groupon and web site «deal»! Just go to their booth at one of the many farmer’s markets they frequent and pick your own produce. That way you can be assured of the quality for the price you are paying.
Unilocal 365 Challenge #103/​365

I had passed up the last $ 25 for $ 50 Groupon and was a little bummed I did so when it came up again I jumped on it! I have to admit I was a little hesitant to get my hopes up because I wasn’t exactly sure what I would «really» get. Anyhow, I had to contact them twice via email to reserve my box but then again on the website it does specify to «keep contacting them» so I did. I was a bit worried that this may be construed as me being rude or impatient and that it would reflect in my upcoming box! I show up to pick up my box on the allotted day and anxiously waited to see what was in my box. I must say that as much as I wanted to peek while they were putting it together, I didn’t. I wanted the feeling of being instantly overwhelmed or disappointingly «underwhelmed.» There was no line for me and the Market overall was honestly pretty empty. not sure why. The box didn’t take long at all! The women there were pleasant but not necessarily super friendly, but of course I came for my box and not to give an award for customer service. So on to the good stuff! The box was great! I felt like it was definitely worth the money spent, not sure if it hit the $ 50 mark but I would absolutely buy again and it was a great deal! As others have stated the Lilikoi dressing is TDF (To Die For!) All of my fruit and veggies were VERY fresh and beautiful! It was worth the money hands down! Only the tips of the corn had to be cut off but I wanted true farm food so I know that happens and wasn’t disappointed because the rest was just fine, sweet and perfect! I am buying another box because they have another deal on their website right now (although it keeps charging the regular $ 50 amount when I try to check out so I’ll keep checking.) I am hoping this wasn’t a fluke and that next time is just as good as this one… I’ll let you know!
Some of what I got: Pineapple, bananas, avocado, kale, onions, greens, eggs, dressing, sweet potatoes, cucumbers, tomatoes, cilantro, corn, cabbage, peppers and I LOVE the fact that its all locally gown! Support our farmers!

Huge disappointment. I purchased the Groupon for the Luau Box for a value of $ 50 and I have to say it was not even worth the $ 25 that I spent on the Groupon.
I sent Hawaiian Chef an email to reserve my box a few days in advance. After receiving a confirmation for my reservation, I went to pick up my box at the designated time and place. When I got there they did not have a box put aside for the reservation that I had made. The people who where manning the tent were asking each other what goes into the box and finally a women came in and got the box together. Regardless of the the disheartening start, I was really excited about trying my fresh produce, eggs, bread and lilikoi BBQ sauce.
Unfortunately, the disappointment just kept coming: I had to throw out half my produce because they were ROTTEN. The cucumbers were brown and mushy inside, the tomatoes were soft and shriveled, the corn was brown under the husk, and the spelt bread was stale. The only things that were in good shape were the eggs, bok choy, the BBQ sauce, and the romaine lettuce. The lettuce is the only thing I’d rave about. Big, crisp and almost sweet. It was the best romaine lettuce I’ve ever purchased. But that being said, the products I was left with was not worth $ 25 never mind $ 50.
I was hoping to become a regular CSA customer with Hawaiian Chef but I’d rather go to the farmers market and get fresh produce that I don’t have fill my trash can with.

Well I’ll be.
I picked up my second luau box this weekend (this time at the Kakaako market) and boy, did I have a different experience!
I still had to wait about half an hour despite being the first in line, but my ‘box’ kicked some serious butt. I DID get my coveted speciality item this time (lilikoi vinaigrette dressing and it is SO worth waiting for), a loaf of super yummy bread, eggs, and TONS of produce — lettuce, onions, tomatoes, green onion, cilantro, a pineapple, kale, bok choy, eggplant, peppers — it was unreal! I felt like Mary Poppins as I continued to take items out of my bag. They just kept coming!
The moral of the story? If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. I’m glad I did!
Unilocal 365 Challenge #14/​365

Since this review they contacted me and offered a drop off to my house. She just dropped it off a few minutes ago. The produce looks really fresh and good and it seems like I got a good value for the Groupon.
Not sure I’d use this service again as it’s just not convenient enough for me but everything really does look delicious.

Okay so I got the groupon deals for the luau box. There are so many veggies most went bad before I could use them! BTW that’s a good thing. I couldn’t believe how much produce they gave me. And that pesto vinagrette was amazing.
I can’t wait to go back to get another box.
Also, they are extremely friendly. I didn’t recognize most of the veggies and realized I should probably ask so I could look up recipes when I got home and they were very nice about how stupid I was. They didn’t make me feel retarded at all for not being able to recognize most of the things in my box.
I’ve still got 2 more to get.
Oh! and they are available at several farmers markets so you can pick which ever is most convenient for you.