Mala Ocean Tavern Blog
Mala Ocean Tavern is excited to announce the appointment of Executive Chef Kalei Ducheneau and BOH ADMIN Kate Ducheneau
With predecessor, local Chef Alvin Savella leaving Mala Ocean Tavern to start new sister restaurant Duckine, the MALA owners were able to turn to Sous Chef Kalei Ducheneau and Back of House Administrator Kate Ducheneau to maintain the quality and innovation that MALA has been known for.
With predecessor, local Chef Alvin Savella leaving Mala Ocean Tavern to start new sister restaurant Duckine, the MALA owners were able to turn to Sous Chef Kalei Ducheneau and Back of House Administrator Kate Ducheneau to maintain the quality and innovation that MALA has been known for.
As the world continues to surprise us, MALA was able to find this husband and wife team to take one of Maui’s staple restaurants and kitchen to the next level. Now Executive Chef Kalei Ducheneau is accompanied by his wife and teammate Kate Ducheneau, creating a top notch team to maintain the qualities and standards of the classic oceanfront eatery in Lahaina.
Executive Chef Kalei Ducheneau is Maui grown! Born in Wailuku, he attended Lahainaluna High School. At the early age of 16, Kalei was driven to work in the kitchen, pursuing culinary Chef as his career.
Ducheneau's training sparked at home. He grew up with his Grandfather Solomon Pali, a cook at the Lahaina Broiler, and his mother, Lala Ducheneau cooking traditional Hawaiian dishes in their home. He started young, appreciating the local style and flavors in island cooking. Chef Kalei’s father, Michael Ducheneau, is trained in classical French cooking, and notes cooking with his father sparked a deeper appreciation for the finesse needed for beautiful execution of each dish.
With this combination of influences, Chef Kalei's passion for food and cooking spawned. Chef Kalei’s experience on the line comes from a host of popular Maui restaurants like Lahaina Fish Co, Pineapple Grill, Merriman's Kapalua, The Westin Maui, and most recently as Sous Chef to Chef Alvin Savella at Mala Ocean Tavern. Ducheaneau, a husband, and father of two small children (Roux, 4, and Suede, 5), is finding his stride to cultivate his own style. He is driven by love of the industry and simply… good food. Chef Kalei is inspired by the different cultures and cuisine on Maui, along with the influence of family to create a fusion of flavors that will surprise and delight the palate.
Originally from Cocoa Beach, Florida, Kate Ducheneau moved to Maui with her brothers in 2015, met Kalei shortly there-after, they were married and started their family. Kate’s passion for the food mirrors her husbands. She came to the MALA Ohana last year helping with kitchen admin. When her partner moved into the role of Executive Chef, wife Kate was able to grow her role as well, becoming MALA Back of House Administrator, and assisting with the back of house operations.
With a partner and teammate focused on kitchen admin, Chef Kalei has been able to soar with creativity and maintain a balanced, efficient kitchen. Kate is a strong inspiration for Chef Kalei, being the first to try some of his creations or motivating him to continue to learn and grow. MALA has a dream team in the duo. Many ask Chef Kalei if his wife cooks as well, and he says, “She can cook, we both cook, but she’s the better baker”.
Along with being driven to build their careers in the Maui Culinary scene, Chef Kalei and Kate want to use their influence to help raise awareness to a cause close to their hearts. After the discovery of their son Suede’s hearing loss, followed by the same diagnosis for their daughter Roux, Kate has immersed herself in the Deaf/Hard of Hearing community in Hawaii, and both are advocates for hearing loss education. If you would like to learn more go to the Hawaii CSC - Comprehensive Service Center for People who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing, or Deaf-Blind.
Executive Chef Kalei Ducheneau’s drive and passion has been shining as he has been running the MALA Kitchen for recent months in the transition. When asked if he is ready for the role, he says, “I have learned so much at MALA, not only about the food and style of the cuisine, but how I want to be as a Chef.” He continued to speak about what is influencing him and inspiring him most right now. “Stepping into this role, I am focused on sourcing locally as much as possible, building relationships with the local fisherman and farmers, and maintaining the excellence that MALA has already achieved.”
MALA General Manager Lisa Kerrick was asked about her fresh new team, “You can already see this in the dishes Chef Kalei is creating. He adds his perfected touches on classic MALA dishes, and is delivering thoughtful and creative features. We’re excited to see how Chef Kalei will enhance the MALA dining experience through bringing what he has to offer to the forefront.”
Join us in congratulating Executive Chef Kalei Ducheneau and Back of House Administrator Kate Ducheneau in their new roles at Mala Ocean Tavern.
Mala Photos by Jennica Lowell
Family Photo by Grace Oliver Photography
The results are in! 2022 ‘aipono restaurant awards
We extend our gratitude to our staff for all their hard work, to everyone who continues to support our businesses, and to everyone who voted for us! It is wonderful to be among all of the talent on the island of Maui and in Hawaii. Congratulations to all the nominees and winners. All of the great restaurants on Maui encourage us to strive to always be our absolute best!
We are proud to have been a part of this past weekend’s Maui Mag 'Aipono Awards at the Old Lahaina Luau! Mahalos to all the people who took the time to vote and show the aloha for so many of Maui's local restaurants and small businesses. Mahalo nui loa to Maui No Ka Oi Magazine for hosting this event for nearly 20 Years!
We extend our gratitude to our staff for all their hard work, to everyone who continues to support our businesses, and to everyone who voted for us! It is wonderful to be among all of the talent on the island of Maui and in Hawaii. Congratulations to all the nominees and winners. All of the great restaurants on Maui encourage us to strive to always be our absolute best!
We are honored to have taken home the following awards:
MĀLA OCEAN TAVERN
GOLD - BEST OCEANFRONT DINING
GOLD - BEST BUSINESS LUNCH
SILVER - MOST MAUI-EST
SILVER - BEST LATE NIGHT DINING
SILVER - BEST SERVICE
SILVER - BEST WINE LIST
Day Family Fundraiser | Live Music & Silent Auction
Our community comes together Saturday, January 29, 2022 for the Day Family Fundraiser | Live Music and Silent Auction at Mala Ocean Tavern.
Event Details:
Silent Auction 10:00 - 11:30p
Live Music - 10:00p - 12:00a featuring
Will Hartz and Solow Vella
3 Pounds of kalo
Current Participants & Donors:
Down The Hatch, Breakwall Shave Ice Co., Mala Ocean Tavern, Kohola Brewing Company, Kimo’s Maui, Esters Fair Prospect, Leilani’s, Duke's Beach House , Honu Oceanside, Jessica Stackpoole, Mahina, Hi Spice, Slight Detour, Cool Cats Cafe, Lahaina Lifestyle, Punakea Palms, Maui Gourmet Food, Lani Lace Lingerie, Pohaikealoha Kaikala Music, Da Playground, David Fincher, Tito’s Vodka, Herradura Tequila, Michael David Winery, UFO Parasail, Sea Maui, Ali’i Maui Outrigger Canoes, & More!
All Day Err Day Fundraiser:
We invite you to join us for the Day Family Fundraiser & Silent Auction, Saturday, January 29, 2022 at Māla Ocean Tavern. Emali Day is the wife to Dennis and the mother of their children Kona, Hina, & Asa. They are a close & humble family living on Maui. Emali is passionate about living a healthy lifestyle, and right before her 40th birthday she was diagnosed with breast cancer. As you can imagine, the news was devastating for the young family. Emali Day is a stay at home mother, who homeschools their children, lives by simple principles and high morals, and leads with love above all. As a community we are coming together to support Emali and her family.
After hearing of her diagnosis, processing, and diligently exploring her options, Emali realized she needed to listen to her intuition and follow the path for her in this journey. Emali saw several local specialists and was given a plan of action. Unfortunately, with Maui's limited resources she was offered a plan she wasn’t fully comfortable with. The offer; a 5-year “survival plan”, a plan to quickly get major surgery, and medication for the next 5-10 years. As eager as she was to get better and continue living life, there was no guarantee, and she has a lot more life to live.
Researching more options, with less invasive methods, the Day’s found facilities on the mainland that offer integrative healing protocols that aim for the root cause of imbalances in the body. The goal being to reverse all the disease in the body while also building immunity for the long haul. There are a number of natural treatments given, with IPT (a low dose chemotherapy delivered through insulin), being one that seems the direction to begin. IPT aims to attack the cancer directly without killing healthy cells at the same time. This is a 4 Week treatment which takes place at EuroMed in Arizona. that has been healing people for many years using proven integrative medical techniques. The idea is to get complete healing of her body so that she may live a long and healthy life watching her children and grandchildren grow. Insurance will not cover most, if any, of the treatment cost. Combined with travel expenses and loss of wages, it seems impossible to get there. But with the help of many loved ones and strangers, she has been able to go to EuroMed and the healing process on her own terms. All of Emali’s cancer markers are steadily dropping and the tumor is shrinking. But considering it took years to get to this place of dis-ease, her healing journey is not over yet.
The Day Family Fundraiser will raise funds to assist in covering medical costs, travel expenses, food, and loss of wages. Mahalo nui loa for taking time to read about Emali Day and her family, and supporting them all during her cancer treatment and healing journey.
Show your support with the Day Family Hat with the beloved motto of the Day Family “All Day Err Day”. Hats Available in the MALA SHOP!
Mahalo nui loa for being here. Please read Emali’s story from her husband's perspective:
Aloha,
My name is Dennis Day and I'm fundraising for my wife, Emali's, healing journey with breast cancer.
A few months ago Emali noticed a lump in her breast. She thought it might be a clogged duct as she'd just finished nursing our youngest child, Asa. It seemed normal because she had similar lumps after our other children, Kona and Hina, finished nursing. Many doctor and specialist appointments later, it was discovered she in fact had stage 2 breast cancer.
Since I've known Emali, she's always been a strong and independent woman. She was the first person in my life that was health conscious and explained it to me in lay terms. As far as I can remember she's lived a natural, tree-hugger type of lifestyle. When we were first dating she was seeking help from a naturopathic doctor concerning gut issues she had. So began the candida healing journey. After being diagnosed with candida there was only one solution that aligned with Emali and that was to heal with the power of the mind and eating a fully clean diet. For well over a year Em slowly healed herself from this disease. I've never witnessed anyone take control over their own health and mind as she did. It was hard and took tremendous amounts of discipline but she did it every day without complaint. I thought, "what an inspiration." It was at that moment I knew we would be together for the rest of our lives.
Years later we began having children and, yet again, I had the chance to witness the amazing power this woman possesses. Watching her have home-births for all 3 of our children put me in awe. She has always had this natural way of doing things that I never heard of prior to meeting her. We watch what we feed our kids; call us "mean parents" but there has always been very little sugar, almost no candy or soda, and home cooked meals. We even watch the type of toothpaste and deodorant we use to make sure there's no "bad stuff." We believe this is the right thing to do for our family and do them daily.
Em has made it a point to live our lives and not boast, brag or preach to others about what we do. She never wanted anyone to feel bad about themselves based on hearing how we live. This is just our life. Simple.
Her humility and grace has always been something I've admired but never talked about because, again, she just isn't like that.
We try to figure things out on our own in life, not because we don't need anything from anyone but rather to not burden anyone. As I write this I'm trying to ask for help in such a way that would make Emali proud and not put-off. With all the background about the natural living, there could only be one way for Em to take on cancer and that is as natural as possible. Truly trying to heal her body to prevent this thing from ever coming back.
Emali saw several local specialists and was given a plan of action. Unfortunately, with Maui's limited resources she wasn't offered a plan she felt fully comfortable with. They offer a 5-year survival plan and she has a lot more life to live. After a lot of research, we have found facilities on the mainland that offer integrative healing protocols that aim for the root cause of all imbalances in the body. This way, she can work to reverse all the disease in the body while also building her immunity for the long haul. There are a number of natural treatments given but also IPT (a low dose chemotherapy delivered through insulin). IPT aims to attack the cancer directly without killing her healthy cells at the same time. This is a 4 week treatment plan that has not been easy for her to accept. Not only does she homeschool our children but this is the longest time she will be away from the family.
The funds we hope to raise will cover medical costs, travel expenses, food, and possible loss of wages. Thoughts of loving kindness and positivity are always hoped for; at this daunting moment in her life, we ask for whatever you see fit to give.
Mahalo nui loa.
Dennis Day
Ua ola loko i ke aloha - love gives life within.
MALA Featured on Forbespeople.com
Mala Ocean Tavern has been making waves for 17 years on the culinary front on Maui, but now under new ownership and the direction of General Manager Rob Farrell and Executive Chef Alvin Savella, MALA is getting recognized by FORBES. Forbespeople.com has listed Mala Ocean Tavern as one of five businesses to watch in 2022.
Mala Ocean Tavern has been making waves for 17 years on the culinary front on Maui, but now under new ownership and the direction of General Manager Rob Farrell and Executive Chef Alvin Savella, MALA is getting recognized by FORBES. Forbespeople.com has listed Mala Ocean Tavern as one of five businesses to watch in 2022.
Mala Ocean Tavern established in 2004 in historic Lahaina town is a classic staple of the Maui food scene. Featuring the best oceanfront dining on Maui and overlooking the old Mala Wharf. Known for exceptional cuisine, the pacific rim and mediterranean inspired menu has been drawing locals and visitors of Maui for years, with focus on locally caught fish and incorporation of exotic ingredients. November 1 of 2018 the restaurant came under new ownership. The young new owners came with ambitions to bring MALA to the next generation, keeping the vintage charm and adding contemporary vibrancy. Bringing daily Brunch and incorporating new approaches on familiar dishes, they've established a modern vibe to the oceanfront eatery.
2019 the team was hitting a stride, and then 2020. As it did for many, COVID rocked the world of MALA's new owners, knowing that if they were not open for service they would not survive. During their closure the whole staff came together to give the older structure (once a pineapple weigh station) a little TLC. Indoor/Outdoor Dining returned on June 1, 2020 and the new owners wasted no time innovating to keep the doors open and to support the local community. During Covid, the team got creative inviting 'out of work chefs' from all over the island into the MALA Kitchen to cook for the locals "starved" for normalcy (All within Covid Guidelines and mandates). After several months and many exciting chefs, one chef stood out. After selling out three different tasting menus, the MALA owners decided to extend the Executive Chef position to Chef Alvin Savella. Savella, known as "The Kitchen Assassin" for his inventive and unexpected twists on flavor combinations, agreed to join the aspiring restaurateurs. Chef Savella is bringing a fresh perspective to the cuisine and his own unique flair, elevating the atmosphere at the classic Maui restaurant. Whether Bone Marrow with Pipikaula, Seafood Brodo, or Chef Alvin's spin on HuliHuli Chicken, the fusion of tastes for your pallet will erupt. Chef Alvin say's "Foods have to look good, taste good, and bring an element of surprise." Of course, the classics are there, because there is always something for each person to share in the aloha. However, big things are happening at this unassuming restaurant by the sea.
MALA means Garden and the experience of being in a garden near the ocean as you watch turtles (honu) splashing in the surf and see rainbows over the West Maui Mountain is one of a kind. This oceanside gem allows you to absorb into island living. With nearly two decades on Maui, the restaurant wants to continue to be where locals and guests of the beautiful island of Maui come together. Sharing in the aloha and offering an authentic experience for food, atmosphere, and service. The new MALA team has been able to raise the bar for dining on Maui's Westside. Priding themselves on creative culinary cocktails, perfectly executed dishes, education of the staff about food, wine, & spirits, along with outstanding customer service, MALA hits all the marks. Island living can always be a challenge to make things new, yet the community has embraced the fresh approach and welcomes the thoughtful changes that have been brought to the best oceanfront dining on the island of Maui, Mala Ocean Tavern.
ForbesPeople.com - Recognizing 5 Businesses We’re Keeping An Eye On in 2022.
COOKING HAWAIIAN STYLE WITH EXECUTIVE CHEF ALVIN SAVELLA ON MAUI!
Chef Alvin Savella is the Executive Chef for Mala Tavern, Down The Hatch, and Breakwall Shave Ice Co. was featured on an episode for the 2021 Season and we are so proud of him! Watch Chef Alvin, known as “The Kitchen Assassin”, on Cooking Hawaiian Style (above) with Host Lanai Tabura.
Cooking Hawaiian Style just finished shooting their 15th season on Maui and one episode features our Executive Chef Alvin Savella. This season was sponsored by Maui County Farm Bureau, location sponsor Kula Country Farms, and Aloha Air Cargo.
Follow @malatavern to find our more about what’s happening at our oceanfront eatery.