Page 17 - MidWeek - Dec 14, 2022

PHOTO COURTESY KTA SUPER STORES
ployees and
Whether he’s greeting em-
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W
customers, joking around with chefs as emcee at the Made in Hawai‘i Festival or taking officials on tours of island farms, Derek Kurisu always appears to be having fun.
KTA’s private label — “Buy Mountain Apple products, please. Aloha!” — in the talks he gives to local business people and school students, and on his television shows Living in Paradise and Seniors Living in Paradise (chan- nel 129 on Spectrum and streaming on YouTube) — which he mostly shoots, hosts and edits himself.
over and tell him, “I heard your voice from the other aisle, and I knew it was you! I just had to come over and say hi.” Even the more reserved give in and flash a shaka for the camera.
The executive vice president of KTA Super Stores on Hawai‘i Island is known for his exuberant personality and passionate promotion of all things lo- cally grown and made.
Everyone gets swept up in the good mood.
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In 1992, as the last sugar plantations on the
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oi
STORY BY
KAREN IWAMOTO
PHOTO COURTESY
Derek Kurisu (right) jokes around with chef Isaiah Badua of Roy’s Hawai‘i Kai at the 2022 Made In Hawai‘i Festival. Kurisu
is the longtime host of the event’s cooking demonstrations.
Derek Kurisu, Hawai‘i Food Industry Association’s Hall of Fame inductee, marks 50-plus years in the food trade, where he’s spent his entire career doing what comes so easy: promoting all things local.
Enjoying their time at the 2022 HFIA Convention are Derek Kurisu and his wife, Georganne. PHOTO COURTESY HFIA
Big Island were winding down, he helped KTA launch its Mountain Ap-
SEE PAGE 20 Kur PHO
HAWAI‘I FOOD INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION
It’s apparent on his
But in truth, Kurisu, who turned 71 earlier this month, has done much to positively influence Ha-
wai‘i’s food and grocery industry.
ic
cemail, which plugs
Sometimes people walk
Both shows usually fea- ture him cooking, enjoy- ing a meal or extolling a new or longtime product or service.
You might begin to wonder if this even counts as work.
Supporting Local
DECEMBER 14, 2022 MIDWEEK 17