Chef Mark to see “So Much More Hawaii”

Chef Mark to see “So Much More Hawaii”

I’m very happy to report that I’ll be going to Hawaii for the first time next week. I’ve been many places in the world, but never to the 50th US state, so I’m really looking forward to discovering the local food scene, beyond the typical tourist stuff.

The tour is sponsored by HawaiiHTA (www.GoHawaii.com), the tourism agency for the state, and will bring together a group of bloggers in different subject areas to learn about all the state has to offer. We’ll each have specialized itineraries to explore in depth the areas of our interest, while on a whirlwind tour of 4 of the islands!

The entire trip will be well documented, as there are a number of great bloggers attending, and we will be live tweeting, twitpic’ing, and posting videoblogs as the trip progresses, and whenever we can get to a good strong wi-fi connection! The other participants are:

Rick Calvert Founder, Blog World Expo www.blogworldexpo.com @blogworld

Jim Turner, Blog World Expo, www.onebyonemedia.com @genuine

Aric S. Queen, Value/Budget Blogger www.Uptake.com @aricsqueen

Leah Lamb, Eco Blogger, Current Green www.currentmedia.com @leahlamb

Shira Lazar, Solo Vacation/R&R Blogger www.shiralazar.com @shiralazar

Sheila Scarborough, Family Travel Blogger www.sheilascarborough.com @sheilas

And yours truly. I’m the FOOD guy!

I’ll be guided around the islands by local Hawaii Food bloggers:

Melissa Chang from the Urban Mix Plate Blog @Melissa808

and Melanie Kosaka from Share Your Table @shareyourtable

The Twitter hashtag will be #HawaiiHTA

I think it’s such a great way for Hawaii to promote what’s available beyond the cliche’d leis, luaus, and mai tais. I hear that they’ll even be creating a micro-site to bring together all the diverse media that will be produced.