Feast of Resistance

Spend an early Sunday evening with friends and some of our favorite foods as part of Feast of Resistance: Asian American History Through Food.

Through this series, our friend and educator Tony Osumi encourages us to think differently about culture and collective learning with food items and culinary history. For this fourth dinner at Azay, Tony, Ren, Pōmaika’i, Dane, and Jordan have chosen foods that speak to their relationships with Hawai’i, family, community, and identity.

Here at Azay, we love sharing the experiences that are most special to us through our food. We’re so excited to learn from the people we’re surrounded by in the best way possible—through conversation, over a meal, together.

Date: Sunday, August 2nd, 2026
5pm-8pm

Each ticket covers the cost of food materials and an orei(honorarium) for our presenters.

Ren Kanoelani (they/them) is a Kanaka ʻŌiwi, CHamoru, Taiwanese, & Japanese artist from Hawaiʻi who shares their love for community through tender moments and risograph prints. 

Dane Hiʻipoi Nakama (b. 1999, Honolulu, Hawai‘i) is a Japanese-Uchinanchu ceramicist, painter, and educator whose work bridges local aesthetics, folklore, and decolonial critique. Raised on O‘ahu and currently based on Tongva land, Nakama’s interdisciplinary practice is both highly referential and disarmingly tender—addressing settler colonialism, ancestral memory, and island identity through a visual lexicon that includes AstroTurf, li hing mui, jalousie windows, sand, seashells and clay geckos. Nakama has exhibited across Hawai‘i and the US continent, and is also the co-founder of the small arts school and ceramic studio known as fishschool Hawai‘i. They received their BFA from the California Institute of the Arts and an MFA in ceramics from UCLA.

Taryn and Chef Gary are both beloved members at Azay <3

Taryn is a tax accountant during the week and a restaurant extraordinaire at Azay on the weekends. She has a heart bigger than her stature, which can be very concerning!

Born and raised in Southern California, Gary returned to the area in 2022 after spending almost thirty years in Hawaii. A graduate of the University of Southern California and the Kapiolani Community College Culinary Arts program, his experience in food and beverage runs the gamut of the industry. Training and progressing in the kitchen at Alan Wong’s Honolulu, he has also served as a Chef de Cuisine, Executive Chef, General Manager, Food & Beverage Director, and consultant, across a spectrum of different properties.

Pōmaikaʻi Gushiken is a Kanaka ʻŌiwi and Uchinaanchu educator and writer from Nānākuli, Hawaiʻi, living in Tovaangar ("Los Angeles"). 

Jordan “JMKM” Maldonado is a Big Island native of Hawaiian, Puerto Rican, and Japanese heritage. He is the founder of Unreal Poke, an acclaimed Hawaiian-style poke concept based in Arcadia, California. Jordan’s culinary journey began in Pepeʻekeo, where he was shaped by the culture, community, and flavors of the plantation towns along the Hāmākua Coast. Before establishing Unreal Poke, he worked across the food and entertainment industries. He also continues his work as a podcaster, music producer, and content creator.