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Meet the Chefs
Russell
Stokes: Executive Chef, Owner
Chef Stokes was raised in a family where great food
was always treasured. Born in Portland, Oregon, his
mother’s professional baking and his Italian grandmother’s
family feasts inspired Stokes to dedicate his life to
cooking. Russell’s mother had a second passion,
surfing, which lead her to move her family to Kauai
when Russell was eight years old. Russell grew up learning
to love food, and at the age of 19 he joined Roy’s
Poipu Bar and Grill, eventually working his way up to
the Executive Chef position.
While at Roy’s, Russell had the opportunity to
learn from many great chefs, including: Roy Yamaguchi,
Gordon Hopkins, David Abella, Jackie Lau and Nobu Matsuhisa.
Stokes also made several guest chef appearances himself,
including: Taste of Hawaii five years in a row, Cuisines
of the Sun, Taste of Taro (where he took top honors),
Holiday Gourmet Gala Dinner at Kauai Community College,
Great Chefs of Hawaii at Kauai Hyatt. He will appear
on Sam Choy’s Cooking Show later this summer.
In addition, Russell has done several wine tasting dinners,
including Mondavi Vineyards and Francis Ford Coppola
Vineyards.
After spending eight years at Roy’s, he decided
it was time to try it on his own. With the help of his
future wife, Karolyn, he formed Kauai Cuisine. Russell
is the creative genius behind the business. You won’t
often find him on the phone with a bride, but if a custom
menu needs to be written, it will most likely be Russell
creating it. Since Stokes has spent the last twenty-two
years in Hawaii he has a tremendous respect and understanding
for local ingredients and flavors, how to use them to
his best advantage. Coupled with his Italian background
and his Euro-Asian training at Roy’s, he has a
varied and unique outlook on food, which he brings to
Kauai Cuisine.
Out of the kitchen, you’ll likely to find Russell
out surfing, following in his mother’s footsteps
once again. Other hobbies include: hiking, kayaking,
mountain biking, snowboarding.
Karolyn
Stokes: Sous-Chef, Owner
Karolyn was also born in Portland, Oregon and was raised
in a nearby town until she went to college. She went
to Pepperdine University and studied early childhood
education, minoring in English and German. After working
in different fields for a couple of years, she attended
culinary school. Karolyn spent the next year attending
the California School of Culinary Arts, spending eight
hours each day learning about all aspects of the culinary
world. The California School of Culinary Arts is a daughter
school of Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, France, basing its
doctrine on classic French cooking techniques through
intense hands-on teaching. Afterwards, she did her externship
at Roy’s Poipu Bar and Grill, where she met Chef
Stokes.
Karolyn handles most of the “business” end
of Kauai Cuisine, talking with brides, sending emails
and keeping organized. She does, of course, do a lot
of the cooking as well. Russell and Karolyn are a well-matched
team. While Russell benefited from extensive hands-on
training, Karolyn has a broader book-based knowledge
of cooking that she gained in school. They both bring
different talents, all necessary, to Kauai Cuisine.
Outside of cooking you will find Karolyn enjoying her
daily exercise of running, canoe paddling, surfing,
kayaking, hiking and reading.
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