Gather & Grow: Chef Amanda Freitag Brings Heart, Heritage, and Local Flavor to Kaua‘i

With a career spanning iconic NYC kitchens, beloved cookbooks, and Food Network fame, Chef Amanda Freitag has built a reputation around accessible cooking, ingredient integrity, and a deep-rooted love for food. This Earth Month, she joins us at 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay for our Chefs by Nature series, a soulful culinary experience spotlighting the richness of Kaua‘i’s harvest and the people who make it thrive.

From interactive classes to a collaborative charity dinner benefiting the Kaua‘i Community College Culinary Arts Program, Chef Freitag invites guests to connect with the island’s bounty, celebrate the joy of shared meals, and leave with more than a full stomach. Through hands-on experiences and meaningful conversations, she reminds us that cooking is not just a craft but a way to honor culture, foster community, and tread more lightly on the planet.

We sat down with Chef Freitag to talk about her early inspirations, her unwavering belief in investing in the next generation, and one change home cooks can make right now to cook more consciously.

Cultivating Community and Culinary Talent With Chef Amanda Freitag 
 

Your career has taken you from New Jersey to some of the most renowned kitchens in New York. What originally sparked your love for cooking, and how has that passion evolved over the years?

My original spark for cooking came from loving food as a kid and watching old school european chef cooking shows! Then I started working in a restaurant and I was hooked.

Our Chefs by Nature series is all about celebrating the flavors of the Hawaiian Islands and honoring the people who cultivate them. What excites you most about working with Kaua‘i’s local ingredients?

I am so thrilled to be learning about these ingredients! My passion my whole career has been on ingredients and honoring their seasonality, local and the people who grow them. I get so inspired by tasting new ingredients and getting hands on. YOu would be shocked how much you learn about someone’s culture through their food history, local ingredients and how it is grown.

This event directly supports the Kaua’i Community College Culinary Arts Program, helping provide scholarships for aspiring chefs. Why is investing in the next generation of talent so important to you?

There is no greater value in our world than leaving behind a strong legacy. I work so much with the younger generation to instill the importance of knowing where their food comes from so that they can understand how to cook it better and educate their guests with their culinary skills. Food is the great connector, it will always bring people from all cultures together. 

From EasyAF to The Chef Next Door, you’ve made cooking more accessible for home chefs. In honor of Earth Month, what’s one simple but powerful change home cooks can make to reduce food waste and cook more sustainably?

BUY LOCAL! I cannot emphasize this enough. That alone checks so many boxes, brings down emissions, forces you to eat seasonally and creates less waste all around. 

What do you hope guests take away from this experience—whether it’s a new perspective on food, a deeper appreciation for sustainability, or just an unforgettable meal?

I hope that the guests go away with a memory that lasts them a lifetime. I love creating memories as a chef, through meals at a table together or cooking together or simply talking about food. I am so grateful to be able to have the opportunity to share my love for food & cooking and I get so much joy from teaching people something new. Whether they learn a new cooking technique or eat something they have never tried before. If each guest goes away with one new piece of knowledge I feel completely satisfied and accomplished as a chef!