hola aloha

This is my Hi'iaka moment.

My name is Jared "Dusk" Paul. I was a cook, living and working in Hawai'i, when the volcano, Kīlauea, erupted just a few kilometers northeast of my tiny “A-frame” jungle hut in early 2018.

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When the time came to leave, I began volunteering at a kitchen where meals were being prepared for evacuees.

Volunteering allowed me to process the realities of displacement, the scattering of my immediate community, and the loss of my livelihood. It brought me closer to having my Hi’iaka moment: a turning point when loss becomes gain and hope replaces sorrow.

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Newly inspired, and determined to thrive despite everything that had happened, I began hosting supper clubs at friends’ homes... 

...which was interrupted when I was diagnosed with lymphoma in October 2019. I'm grateful to tell you that chemotherapy was a huge success and I'm officially in remission now.

During my treatment I began exploring new ways to make my ends meet. I needed a solution that allowed for erratic peaks and canyons with my health and energy. This new set of parameters inspired me to create several specialty sauces that capture the flavors and mana of my original supper club concept. This new line of homemade, small batch foodstuffs are naturally shelf stable and only get more delicious over time—customers all over the world can enjoy my sauces and have an authentic supper club experience anytime, anywhere!

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These products and services empower me to be a positive contributor to my broader community, to hire friends and neighbors who are looking for work, to support local farmers, merchants, and artisans, and to spread aloha beyond the shoreline of Big Island.

I call this endeavour hola aloha and this continues to be my Hi'iaka moment.