Co-Owner and Chef at Restaurants I’O and Pacific’O, located right next to each other on the beach in Lahaina, Chef James McDonald, has started a revolution with his “Feast at Lele.”
What distinguishes Chef James McDonald is his restaurant’s direct connection with the upcountry Maui, organic farm known as O’O. We were so fortunate to have James take us on an awe-inspiring tour of his O’O farm, tooling around the ultra-fertile soil with all of the varieties of lettuce, herbs, veggies on the vine and even citrus trees and vineyards!
The O’O Organic Farm in Upcountry Maui is a magical place, sprawling, lush fields that burst with organic goodies just reaching up toward the Hawaiian sun! What makes this property all the more breathtaking is the fact that it sits on large plateau, overlooking all of Maui below! You can see the crystal blue Pacific on all sides, the ocean waves in a long white line crashing far in the distance, and the mountains and valleys in between!
Culminating our journey around the O’O Farm, James gathers a mouth-watering variety of fresh from the farm greens- to make a beautiful Salad just for us! To top it off, James brought his own special passion fruit dressing, with its soft, yet citrus feeling in the mouth, it really brings out all the flavors of the fresh lettuces there! Most importantly is that he shows us how to gently treat each piece of lettuce, being careful not to bruise or damage the leaves- as this is the best way to enjoy it! You really can’t have a fresher salad than this!

Later that same day, just prior to the mystical Maui sunset, we made our way to the Surfing Goat Dairy to visit with Thomas and Eva-Maria Kafsack who take great pride in being Maui's best and only goat dairy.
The Surfing Goat Dairy has been providing quality goat dairy products for Maui and beyond for over 3 years. Hosting culinary tours of their lush pastures, teaching people about the health benefits of goat cheese, and showing us how their goats really do love to hop up on a surf board! Something you have to kind-of see to believe.
The goat cheese from the Surfing Goat Dairy is hands down some of the finest goat cheese in the world! They have gourmet flavors and blends, varied textures and it’s all coming from such a beautiful place!
They utilize their experience coming from Germany, influenced by their keen sense of European quality and aesthetic flavors, to create a line of goat cheese products that make you feel like you’re standing one foot in Maui and the other in the heart of Europe…a truly incredible blend to be sure!
The best part of the Surfing Goat Dairy is the calm nature of their farm there, set against the backdrop of the soft, rolling hills in Maui, there’s a real sense of old-world relaxation and simplicity they convey- running only by the clock and commute of goats coming and going!