Citrus-cured kampachi crudo at Aurum Maui. Photograph by Sebastian Sayegh at Sayegh Visuals.
The resort group of Wailea, Maui is understood for its opulence. On the neighborhood’s hub, The Outlets at Wailea, premier manufacturers like Gucci and Prada wrap round a meticulously manicured outside mall intertwined with connoisseur eateries and high-quality eating. It’s the proper place for newcomer Aurum Maui, named after the Latin phrase for gold.
Aurum Maui is led by managing companions Natasha and Taylor Ponte, each from Maui. Collectively, they’ve mixed heat and unobtrusive service with New American dishes made with native substances and a nod to Hawaiʻi Regional Delicacies. The plush inside, marked by rounded corners and flaxen mild, glimmers all through the 4,700-square-foot restaurant. However regardless of its magnificence, the Pontes don’t crave an ultra-bougie fame.
“I feel for us, we actually centered on attempting to be group based mostly and pushed. After all, we would like the vacationers and all of the individuals visiting to return and dine with us, however we additionally need to be a spot that’s accessible to the local people.”
Aurum Maui is positioned inside The Outlets at Wailea on Maui’s Southwest Shore. Photograph by Pacific Dream Pictures.
A part of Vacation spot Hospitality Group, the Aurum idea additionally has areas in Steamboat Springs, Aspen and Breckenridge Colorado. The unique, Aurum Steamboat, opened in 2014 in an previous gold rush mining city (therefore the identify). Eleven years later, Vacation spot Hospitality discovered kindred spirits within the Pontes after they met at a non-public dinner the Pontes had been catering.
Aurum Maui interprets what Vacation spot Hospitality began in Steamboat Springs for a Hawaiʻi viewers. From its refined dwellings to its locally-sourced product and dedication to group, intentionality is clear. Aurum is right here to make an impression, for kāma’aina and guests alike.
“We’re very centered on supporting the culinary faculty and the culinary program,” Natasha Ponte stated. “And as a lot as we are able to, to donate to completely different nonprofits in want on island. These are large priorities to us. And even simply sourcing domestically, that may be a big approach to assist our economic system.”
A favourite dish of the Pontes is the pan-seared native kampachi. Photograph by Sebastian Sayegh at Sayegh Visuals.
Chef Taylor Ponte, a Maui Culinary Academy alum, got here up in kitchens led by acclaimed Hawai’i cooks Alan Wong and Jonathan Mizukami on Oʻahu. Like his mentors, he goals to inform a narrative with every dish: the place it comes from, who grew the produce or raised the animals and who eats it. Dishes such because the lobster toast loaded with tender chunks of lobster and served over pillowy bread with crunchy shaved fennel and whipped avocado and Mediterranean Meatballs with tzatziki and cucumber salad speaks to the roots of Aurum’s New American beliefs. However dishes just like the Okonomiyaki – impressed by savory Japanese teppanyaki pancakes, made with Kaua’i prawns, kewpie mayo and bacon – remind you of Maui’s multi-ethnic heritage.
Bar supervisor Ryan Dunton crafts farm-to-glass cocktails. Photograph by Sebastian Sayegh at Sayegh Visuals.
A favourite dish of the Pontes is the native kampachi. The fragile fish is pan-seared skin-on and served with miso butter cauliflower purée and native greens that rotate each day.
“It’s such a effectively thought out dish,” Natasha Ponte stated. “The flavors within the miso butter are scrumptious. The cauliflower puree ties in with the fish, the pores and skin and the saltiness and the crunchiness, it’s all simply scrumptious.”
The drinks are as considerate because the meal, with by-the-glass choices like a Blanc de Chenin from France’s Loire Valley and creative and interactive cocktails just like the Lychee Lani, a plum wine and vodka concoction served with a again of glowing sake.
“Golden Hour,” which runs from three p.m. to five p.m. each day, options cocktails designed, by bar supervisor Ryan Dunton, to go with the meals.
“Each cocktail is a real collaboration between our kitchen and bar groups,” Taylor Ponte stated. “We use house-made infusions and syrups that echo our farm-to-table philosophy making a farm-to-glass expertise the place stability and magnificence shine by means of with out being overpowering.”
It is very important the Pontes that the workers is educated about the place substances are sourced and what every ingredient inside the 160-seat restaurant represents. Each element provides to the tales the Pontes infuse all through the visitor expertise. This gold customary extends to the restaurant’s inclusivity.
“We wish it to be the place that individuals come for lunch, for dinner, for joyful hour, for a special day, or simply to hang around, , with your mates after the seashore,” Natasha Ponte stated.
