A World of Inspiration at the 2026 Banana Festival Cook-Off
Mahalo to Our Great Banana Cook-Off Judges and Sponsors
Contestants in this year’s festival cook-off—who were challenged to create something original and tasty from local mai‘a—seem to have looked around the globe for ideas. The winning recipes are dishes native to Peru, Italy, France, and Mexico, each re-imagined and enhanced with banana!
The judging was done this year by chefs Jason Peel and Emily Perkins. Jason has a long history of cooking on O‘ahu, working for chefs such as Roy Yamaguchi before opening and running his own Nami Kaze restaurant for many years. Jason is now sharing his acquired culinary wisdom with students at Kapi‘olani Community College, with a focus on utilizing local farm products. Emily learned to cook at her grandmother’s knee and hasn’t stopped. After moving to Hawai‘i in 2011, she met chef Mark Noguchi and has now spent 13 years cooking with his Pili Group catering company. On the side, she runs her own small-scale catering company and teaches cooking classes that highlight locally grown foods—part of her advocacy for sustainability. She also serves on the board of Chef Hui.
Contestants entered dishes in four categories—pupu, savory, dessert, and drink. (There were no entries this year in the fifth category, flower.) Entries were judged according to the following five criteria: Best use of banana; color/appearance/presentation; taste/flavor/aroma; creativity/originality; and overall impression.
Kendall Barker’s “Banana Ceviche” took first place in pupu. She credits having a lot of limes on the tree in her yard as inspiration for ceviche. Kendall had a big day, as she also took first place in the savory category, presenting “Banana Gnocchi with Flower Pesto.” She reports gnocchi as one of her favorite things to make and enjoys trying out a variety of ingredients. She won a $100 gift certificate from Farm Link Hawai‘i and a Patagonia backpack.
For dessert, “‘Ulu-Mai‘a Crème Caramel” won first place for Sunny Harrington (and her grandmother, Liz Bogdanski). Liz is proud to say that she grew the ‘ulu and mai‘a (and made the caramel sauce), while Sunny put the custard together. Liz cooked the custard in a pressure cooker, but traditional baking in a water bath would work too. They won a $100 gift certificate from Farm Link Hawai‘i.
In the drink category, Natascha Roblee won first place with her “Banana Horchata,” a refreshing Mexican drink made with ground rice, milk, and cinnamon. She’s an architectural specialist for Pacific American Lumber by day, and on the side runs her “Made From Scratch” business. She also won a $100 gift certificate from Farm Link Hawai‘i.
Below are some of the winning recipes.
Banana Gnocchi with Banana Flower Pesto
1st Place Savory
Ingredients
- 4 Namwah bananas (or your favorite), mashed
- 1-3/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus additional 1/4-cup for dusting
- 1 egg yolk (separate out the white and use elsewhere)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup ripe banana flower (usually pink)
- 1/3 cup macadamia nut or other nut of choice
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves (pre-roasted in olive oil)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tsp lime juice (or more, to taste)
- Optional: caramelized banana (saute 1 banana with brown sugar)
Instructions
- Dust surface with flour. Make a mound of flour and salt; place mashed banana on top, then egg yolk.
- Mix the yolk and banana and then gently fold the flour into the mixture. Do not over mix! Fold until there is a rough dough ball and dust with flour.
- Cut the dough ball into eighths to make small dough balls; roll these into log shapes. Gently roll the logs with some flour for shape.
- Cut the logs into 1-inch-long gnocchi. Place gnocchi on a sheet pan or plate and place into the freezer until firm.
- Bring a large pot of water to boil. Place small batches of gnocchi into boiling water; remove when they float to the surface (might need a stir if they get stuck to the bottom).
- For pesto, combine all remaining ingredients in blender; blend until smooth.
- Put cooked gnocchi in serving bowl. Mix a bit of pasta water with pesto and stir into gnocchi. Serve!
Banana Ceviche with Plantain Chips
1st Place Pupu
Ingredients
- 4 or 5 Namwah bananas, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 1/2 cup red onion, diced small
- 1/3 cup jalapeño or Hawaiian chili pepper, diced small
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1/2 Tbsp honey
- 1/2 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped
- 2 or 3 limes, juiced
- 1 tsp salt
- Optional: 1 mandarin, juiced
- 2 underripe plantains, thinly slice or mandoline
- 1 cup vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
- Place all ceviche ingredients in a bowl and stir to combine. Set aside.
- Heat oil. Fry plantain slices until golden. Remove to paper towel-lined plate/bowl.
- Top with a pinch of salt and/or Dash seasoning after frying.
Sunny's ‘Ulu-Mai‘a Crème Caramel
1st Place Dessert
Ingredients
- 1 cup ripe mai‘a, mashed
- 1 cup cooked ripe ‘ulu, mashed
- 3/4 cup silken tofu
- 8-oz can of ‘ube-coconut condensed milk
- 12-oz can evaporated coconut milk
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- Pinch of sea salt
- Garnish: Mint and sliced bananas
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup warm water
Instructions
- Start by making caramel sauce: Put sugar in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir as it melts, 2 to 4 minutes, don't let it burn! Turn off heat and slowly add warm water. Stir until a smooth sauce, then pour into ramekins.
- To make custard: Put all ingredients (except garnish) in blender. Blend until smooth. Pour mixture into ramekins on top of the caramel sauce.
- Cover each tightly with foil. Add one cup of water to a pressure cooker pot. Place ramekins on steamer rack (can stack on top of each other). Secure lid and pressure cook on high for nine minutes.
- Let cool, then refrigerate overnight.