PRINCEVILLE — Antwon Brinson, a Chef de Cuisine at The Princeville St. Regis Hotel, lives by a theme: Savor the freshness of locally grown foods and squeeze the best out of life. He grew up only a 10-minute walk from
PRINCEVILLE — Antwon Brinson, a Chef de Cuisine at The Princeville St. Regis Hotel, lives by a theme: Savor the freshness of locally grown foods and squeeze the best out of life.
He grew up only a 10-minute walk from what he considers one of the “Seven wonders of the world,” Niagara Falls. Summertime brought picnics with his mom. In the depths of winter, half the water would freeze over. Rainbows offered repeat performances.
“We would go down on the coldest days because it would ice over, which made it fun to slide,” Brinson said. “One the most amazing things I remember is the way the sun would hit the ice and reflect into the waterfall. It would cause some of the most intense refraction of light. I remember feeling a sense of peace, as if it were a validation of being in the right place at the right time.”
That rainbow reflection followed Brinson to Kauai.
“I do recall when the family and I first arrived to Kauai, and my first week picking my son up from Hanalei School. As we were leaving the cafeteria headed back to the car, we looked up and it was one of the most amazing rainbows,” Brinson said. “I remember stopping in my tracks and smiling with a feeling of peace. At that moment it felt as if life again was validating my decision to move to this amazing island.”
He finds the discovery of new ingredients to be a treasure.
“I love fresh produce,” Brinson said. “I love going to the local markets.”
Rumbletum, the unique, red, juicy fruit, was a surprise.
“I had never seen or heard of it,” Brinson said. “As a chef you wonder, ‘What can I do with that?’”
And then there was the mango tree he came across on the way to Annini Beach with his wife and two sons.
“It was the first time I’d ever had a mango right off the tree. It was nothing like the mangos you get in a store,” Brinson said.
The chef grew up around home cooking as an only child. Nevertheless, his mother spent a lot of hours in the kitchen — cooking for him and 200 foster children she fed throughout the years.
“Growing up, I experienced a lot of failures in the kitchen,” Brinson said with a laugh.
Not because his mother was a bad cook. She was an experimental cook, something he inherited from her.
Now he seeks to inspire his kitchen staff.
“One thing I love to do is teach,” Brinson said. “There’s always something new on my tasting menus. I work with a team where some of them have been around for 20 to 30 years. I push them to come up with dishes that are new.”
When the executive chef isn’t at work, he tries to master the challenge of surfing. It’s a far cry from sliding across a frozen surface, but it’s a thrill in its own right. When he rode one of his first waves, it sent a tingle up his spine.
“It was the best feeling in the world,” Brinson said.
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This is an ongoing feature that focuses on everyday people who reflect the spirit that makes Kauai the place it is today. If you know of somebody you’d like to see featured, email Lisa Ann Capozzi at lcapozzi@thegardenisland.com
