George Sabato Castagnola "Master of Hawaii Italian"

 

Going across the seas and entering the islands by plane there is a sense of adventure from seeing the islands from afar to seeing them up close and living by the place and its people. Coming over from Manhattan to Hawaii would be a far jump of faith to open a place that would start bringing some fine dining flair of Italian food to Hawaii on Oahu with a restaurant known as Italian restaurant Castagnola's in Manoa Marketplace (1984). In this place is where the movement of Italian dishes would become apart of the food landscape of Hawaii from fine dining to plate lunches and the many chefs that followed the tracks that were layed by the eatery.

On each island there was dishes like Baked Spaghetti that have been known for years or even some Pasta Salad and even some Baked Macaroni that was simple and satisfying. However, things would change with the man known as Cass (aka. George Castagnola).

Some customers would know him by "Pasta Pops" as a way to lesson the formalities to a feeling of family talk over a table instead of owner to guest. The original idea of a formal atmosphere had remained, but the service started to change from formal to a slightly more laid back formal that let things slide in order for comfort. The way of serving would start to adapt to local customers and have treatment slowly become more casual local with optional formalities instead of a strict fine dining establishment.

Castagnola who was amazing at authentic Italian cuisine went off to hire immigrants who were properly trained in the ways of Italian cooking. Celebrities would come for Castagnolas dishes like Don Ho, Frank Sinatra, and Tom Selleck had been frequent visitors to the restaurant.

Sizzling of a pan with the complexities of the flavor that has started with a Sicilian blend that went on to develop a menu for Local tastes and later on a Local Regional Variation of dishes that added to Hawaii cuisine as a whole. The atmosphere would be that of class, quite formal, and with respect that would create for a almost romantic like atmosphere. The fire of the kitchen that burns hot would have Castagnola running multiple restaurants until he finally would pay more attention in bringing ingredients from Italy and find himself stepping away from the restaurant scene.

Castagnola would spend his time working on a book, so even the home cook could have an arsenal of recipes at their finger tips and be able to make delicious Italian food with directions written by himself. This would be the book called "Cooking Italian in Hawaii Cookbook" which was under his full name of George Sabato Castagnola. This had shown that the importance of teaching others about food, especially the every day resident was of importance to him as he continued to share his recipes and treat kama'aina people with the same treatment as celebrities during his time in the restaurant business. Each cook would be advised to teach the next cook under them the same steps and the same processes and preps for consistency, which is similar in passing information from one generation to the next through mo'oolelo.

There are many Italian Chefs in Hawaii who teach in this same way and allow for a sort of expectation found in Hawaii in the kitchen and in the flavors that have changed so much that they can only be found in Hawaii. This was the start of the many dishes that would make Hawaii Italian food different from other states and pave the way for dishes to make their mark on the regional cuisine as a whole. Many people who eat Hawaii Italian have much recollection of Castagnola, but stories like these keep the legacy alive.