Executive Pastry Chef Wins

Turtle Bay Resort’s Executive Pastry Chef Benjamin Tabios won the Grand Prize this week at the Hawaii Cacao Festival with his Chocolate Cake with Ginger Ganache Frosting and Caramelized Banana dessert. (Maybe we should get him to create a name for it that is easier to say).

Competing against top chefs from around the island, Chef Tabios used Waialua Estate Chocolate and Waialua Estate Coffee to create a rich and full flavored cake. He the topped it with a ginger ganache and finished it with a slice of caramelized banana (seen in photos here taken by Annie Suite, courtesy of Haleiwa Farmers’ Market).

Executive Pastry Chef Tabios is a graduate of local Radford High School. He then went on to graduate from Purdue University and Le Cordon Bleu. He then worked for Gordon Ramsay (of Hell’s Kitchen fame) for many years before becoming the top pastry chef at 4 Travel + Leisure Magazine’s top 500 Hotels. Chef Tabios was excited to be able to return to his native Hawaii and last year he joined Turtle Bay Resort’s staff and ever since Turtle Bay Resort’s guests have been blessed to be able to enjoy his creations in both the Palm Terrace and Twenty One Degrees North restaurants.

Congratulations Chef!