Hawaii Island chef Ippy Aiona is known for his traditional Hawaiian plates at his restaurant in Waimea, and now he’s sharing his journey in a new cookbook and memoir, “Growing Up Hapa in Hawaii.” Born and raised in Kamuela, Aiona trained at Le Cordon Bleu and was shaped by his experiences at his father’s Kamuela Deli and his mother’s Solimene’s Italian restaurant.
He says each recipe in the book, from plate lunches to Italian classics, reflects his Hawaiian-Italian heritage and the bonds that tie him to his roots. Aiona joined HNN’s Sunrise to make one of the recipes, a garlic shrimp aglio olio, an Italian recipe he learned from his mother.
