VegFest O‘ahu

Celebrate. Learn. Taste.

  • Home
  • About Us
    • Our Team
    • Mission
    • Press Release 2019
    • Location 2019
    • Privacy Policy
  • News
  • Sponsors
  • LineUp
    • Food and Booths
    • Schedule 2019
    • Speakers 2019
    • Chef Demos 2019
    • Music 2019
  • Learn
    • Recipes Vegan
    • Videos Speakers
    • Blog Articles
  • Get Involved
    • Dream Team Roles
    • Aloha Activism
    • Volunteer at VegFest O‘ahu 2019
  • Contact
You are here: Home / Expert Chef Cooking Demos 2016

Expert Chef Cooking Demos 2016

Expert Chefs in the Learning Kitchen

Headshot Sylvia2Sylvia Thompson

Demo Dish:  Zucchini Fettuccine with MacNut Alfredo and Marinated Mushrooms

Sylvia recalls an early morning call from her husband in 2003, “Okay, I’m alive, let’s be vegans!” Surviving a heart attack, he was sent home with a stent in his blocked artery and prescriptions for six powerful drugs “for the rest of his life.”   Their vegan journey to reverse his heart disease started January 1st, 2004.  Sylvia found nutrition and flavor in gourmet vegan raw foods made of vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds. In 18 months, her husband was off all medication. Realizing the need for gourmet tasting healthy food, Sylvia parlayed her passion into starting a weekly Meal Plan business, Licious Dishes, in 2007.  Winning a Critic’s Choice, Star Advertiser Award in 2011, she opened a restaurant, Greens and Vines, in 2012, winning numerous awards and customers.  Her food can also be found at the Farmers’ Markets, and at Fitness Centers where she delivers her weekly Meal Plans.

Headshot MamaTMama T Gonsalves

Demo Dish:  Chickpea Mock Tuna Salad

Mama T is a passionate advocate of using sustainable practices to grow food organically and use food as medicine. “Ancient ways in modern days” is her motto. She came to Hawaii 12 years ago from San Diego on a singing tour.  She quickly fell in love with the islands, the people, and the Aloha way of life, and feels very blessed to call Hawaii home. She teaches  Food as Medicine classes throughout the islands and owns her own pop up restaurant open every Friday, called Mama T’s Ital Kitchen. She’s a private chef for celebrity clients and feeds the houseless once a month at the Next Step Shelter in Kaka’ako.   Mama T has a background in early child development and directed inner-city youth programs in San Francisco and San Diego. Her passion is to teach healthy ways to eat and live and advocates that choosing native foods free of pesticides or processed with chemicals is imperative for sustainable health.

Edgar HeadshotEdgar Edge

Demo Dish:  Seitan Pepper Steak and Okinawan Sweet Potato Salad

As a life-long vegetarian, Edgar’s chef experience crosses continents with interesting assignments that led him to meld tastes and spices from his many travels. He started in 1980 as a busboy in his native Toronto, Canada, and soon entered chef training. By 1990, answering a call to service by his Seventh-Day-Adventist Church, Edgar became Executive Chef of Newbold College in Bracknell, England. He spent two years in Thailand teaching English as a second language, and then came to Hawaii where he was Food Service Director at Hawaii Mission Academy.  He next became Food Service Director for the Maxwell Adventist Academy in Kenya, and then traveled to Idaho, where he served as Food Service Director for Gem State Academy.  In 2009 he joined Chateau de Boise as Executive Chef of fine dining at this senior independent living community.  In 2012 Edgar came to Down to Earth, where he became Deli Manager of its Kapolei location.  His success led him to the dual position of Deli Manager of the Honolulu location and Food Service Director of Down to Earth.

Screen KellyKelly Stern

Demo Dish:  Local Kine Luau Stew

Kelly is known on Oahu for her mouthwatering vegan pies available by special order through her food business Goldilocks Grinds.  A new awareness about eating animals awakened in Kelly at age 9 when she became a vegetarian, and she continued to educate herself over the years about health, nutrition, whole foods, organic farming, and factory animal agriculture. For over 10 years, Kelly has been preparing wholesome, plant-based food in restaurants, private catering, farmers markets, and her popular farm-to-table dinners with her business Yogarden in Waimanalo. Kelly specializes in  locally sourced plant based cuisine that honors her own body, this planet and all the animals.

Read Our Blog

Stories about the "making of" VegFest O‘ahu, highlights of the festival day, and videos captured.

Read the Blog...

Our Mission

VegFest Oahu logo - Celebrate. Learn. Taste.

VegFest O‘ahu's mission is to offer the community a fun-filled opportunity to experience the many benefits of choosing plant-based foods and lifestyle.

Read More...

Join our Tribe!

Be the first to know about all the latest tasty news about future events. We respect your privacy!







Check this box to receive our newsletter and other emails from VegFest O'ahu, including other related information, such as health and wellness and nutrition tips.

Copyright @2016-2025