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Executive Chef Alex Stanislaw Executive Chef Alex Stanislaw brings years of experience and Eastern European influence to The Plantation House Restaurant - a perfect complement to its traditional warm Hawaiian hospitality. This outstanding chef did not originally set out down a culinary path. He studied cinematography at Syracuse University in the mid-seventies. However, a job in the kitchen of a swanky, southern country club in Virginia Beach changed his life path. Stanislaw has always felt at home in the kitchen. "The kitchen was always the center of family activities. I can't remember a day when my grandmother didn't have a big pot of soup stock simmering on the stove." Quite possibly his grandmother was his most significant culinary influence. During his five years in Virginia Beach, Stanislaw discovered something unexpected--he just loved to cook! Fortunately for all of us, that made him consider it as a potential career. And though the country club set was primarily a "meat and potatoes" crowd, the location provided for some great seafood. "Seafood is probably my favorite medium, because it's so fresh, healthy and clean." Stanislaw decided he could best benefit from formal training, so he applied to the Culinary Institute of America. He was immediately accepted, moved back to New York, and began the CIA's intensive 15-month program. After graduating with honors, he was offered a job at Kapalua Bay Hotel through Rock Resorts, and made the move to Maui. He spent 3 years at Kapalua Bay Hotel, and another 7 as the Executive Chef at Erik's Seafood Grotto before joining The Plantation House team as Executive Chef/Partner. Looking back, he attributes his innovative recipes and down-home flavors to family influences and twenty-six years of Maui experience. His knack for blending the island's freshest with earthy flavors from his Mediterranean ancestry sets him--and Plantation House cuisine-- apart from the rest. While glancing through the menu, many of the chef's specialties contain Mediterranean flavors--from France, Italy, and even farther east. Though the flavors are bold, the food is as light and healthy as the soothing climate of the islands. Flavored oils and combinations of spices and herbs still allow the wonderful flavors of fresh fish, meat and produce to shine through--they provide complementary tastes and textures that enhance, rather than obscure. |
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