Exciting News!
We are launching our new brand! CookingKauai.com is now the home of our innovative, hands-on, cooking classes. Your support of this new endeavor has been overwhelmingly positive and we look forward to continue growing this program.
For years, many of you have been a part of the Monkeypod Jam family, watching us grow, evolve, and react to the ever-changing world. Similar to humans, businesses fade if they don’t embrace the gift of transformation. What started as a means to make payroll at the cafe, has turned into a passion and a way we may be a positive part of the island community without sacrificing our family experience.
Over the past 2 years, we have been offering recreational cooking classes to both locals and visitors. To say they are a fun 3 hours is an understatement. They are a complete joy! We mingle with visitors, sharing the stories, history, and recipes of the island. We escort guests eager to learn about Kaua‘i’s colorful agriculture through the farmers market, then head back to the kitchen to create a stunning meal. Locals are being taught how to preserve the seasons, utilizing the produce abundantly growing in their yards. Chefs are traveling from the mainland and beyond to share their culinary skills and passions. Our love cup is overflowing.
We continue to create small runs of our prized preserves. After so many years, the practice of canning now runs through our veins and is as much a part of us as breathing. The resulting jewel-toned jars are a bit challenging to come by… no longer proudly stacked on the shelves of your favorite Hawai‘i markets or available for ordering at your leisure on our website. Instead, please review what we currently have in stock on our Preserves Page and send us an email to place an order and schedule a meet-up.
This new season of our little Kaua‘i business has been in motion for some time. We have been loving all the new opportunities it has created, connecting us to our community and providing an authentic visitor activity. Admittedly, the changes have created a bit of an identity crisis. We are no longer a preserving company… The name, Monkeypod Jam no longer speaks to our craft. After months of letting it roll around in our heads, repeatedly saying it out loud while running errands, and finally creating a logo, we can say it is time. Cooking Kaua‘i is how you will find us going forward. The beloved monkeypod tree will be missed, but won’t completely fade away. Over the next few months, she will make appearances in our logo shop and we are still determined to publish a Monkeypod Jam cookbook.
To each of you, thank you for keeping up with us, and enjoying the journey of preserving Kaua‘i’s seasons whether through delicious jam, culinary classes, or possibly even an upcoming retreat (more on that later).
A Hui Hou,
Aletha, Robert, Annika, Stella Cat, Lola the Pug, and the four hens send you all their love. Keep curious, always be kind, and never turn down a slice of cake!
P.S.
If you notice you are no longer receiving twice-monthly newsletters, please register for them on the new website. Your email may have not made it across during the transfer to the new website. You may also register just in case as you will not receive duplicate emails.