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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. In addition, Russell has done several wine tasting dinners, including Mondavi Vineyards and Francis Ford Coppola Vineyards.Karolyn:
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. Since Stokes has spent the last twenty-seven 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.
Karolyn
Stokes: Sous-Chef, Owner
Karolyn was also born in Portland, Oregon and was raised in a nearby town until she went to college. A couple of years after college, she attended culinary school at the California School of Culinary Arts. The CSCA is an intensive training-style school, where students spend 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.
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.
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