Telling our Stories Through Food

Insights into Change, Growth, & Connection to Place

At Common Ground Summit, In Community With Food, we believe in the power of food to tell us about ourselves and each other.

Ingredients on a plate, techniques, customs and traditions adhered to, all tell us about the people, past and present, who have made our food possible.

The places they came from, the land they worked, the animals they hunted, and the community they built are all represented in the dishes we share. But food is not just about where we’ve been; it can also show us where we are going. New ingredients and new takes on classic dishes can show us the ways in which our communities are changing, growing, and becoming more diverse.

 Over three days in November, we bring you on a journey through Hawaii’s past, present, and future, highlighting local ingredients and building off of the varied traditions of the Islands. While our story begins in Hawaii, participating chefs from Australia, Chile, Puerto Rico, and the US mainland, will show us the ways that food can help close the distance between us and the ways in which our stories mirror those of people around the world. For example, we can look at the Hawaiian imu ceremony and the Chilean curanto, two practices that originated thousands of miles apart, yet are built on the same foundation.

The shared techniques and the variations in the ways that communities utilize different ingredients allows us to both recognize our shared connection, while also celebrating the uniqueness of each place.

The stories of home and histories are all part of the experience of ICWF.

People come together to talk and to learn, to share and to create new stories, new memories, and a new community with amazing people whose path you might never have otherwise crossed.

And they will come together to eat… And it will be delicious.