Look, you can already see that rock cooking this meat over here.

It's got a nice sear.

It's already smelling good.

You see this browning here?

It's already juicy in there.

That fat starting to cook down.

It's a big guy.

Big girl, big girl.

It was a girl.

That's right.

I'm Chef Pyet DeSpain.

From winning Next Level Chef to cooking for A-listers.

I've made my mark with indigenous fusion cuisine.

I chased my dreams to L.A., but I hit roadblocks.

I spent a year couch surfing, searching for identity and direction.

But what grounded me was food.

The traditional Native American and Mexican recipes of my ancestors.

Now I'm on a mission across the Americas to reconnect with indigenous foodways and bring their bold, beautiful flavors back to the table.

For this episode of Spirit Plate, we are on the gorgeous island of O'ahu to learn about traditional Hawaiian foodways.

It's such a gift to be here in Hawaii, where the land and the people are so deeply connected.

I've come to Papahana Kuaola, a place dedicated to mama ina, caring for the land and teaching future generations how to live sustainably.

And I'm here to visit my old friend and fellow chef Kealoha, who lives and works here with his family.

So we're able to grow the things that we need to sustain ourselves.

This is a model of a traditional taro patch.

So what role does the taro play in the traditional Hawaiian diet?

Well, for us, the kalo, the taro, was our staple food.

It was pretty much eaten with every meal.

For me when I reintroduce taro to someone's diet, a native Hawaiians diet, it's like a family reunion.

You know, it's like a magic moment.

Here the land provides everything.

And learning how to use that is the tradition Kealoha is passing down to his children.

My sons basically grew up running around this place.

I feel really blessed for that.

Kealoha's middle son is graduating from high school - a modern marker for an ancient coming of age tradition.

And I get to be a part of it, and I'm really grateful for that.

So Kealoha invited me to come and see the traditional cooking of the Imu and the pig, and it's something I've never experienced before.

An Imu is a Hawaiian underground oven.

Perfect for cooking a pig to feed a party.

Now this is your first time killing a pig?

Yeah.

Taking a life.

Yeah.

So you mentioned, this is sort of a coming of age ceremony, as you will?

Because you're graduating.

Right?

Right.

Congratulations.

Yeah, Kaiao will have the honor and the responsibility of taking the life of this pig.

Set it for its next journey.

You know, we've been gifted this beautiful pig.

We want to acknowledge Yeah, the life of the pig.

Yeah.

And everything that it took to get the pig to this point.

We'll see how it goes.

Hopefully I do it correctly so that the pig doesn't suffer.

Are you nervous about that?

A little bit.

I mean, generally, with these kind of things, I feel like taking a life of something is is really important.

And we should be doing, sparingly.

Yeah.

Make it a quick kill, I don't want to be... He's ready.

They're ready.

They're going now.

When you get the chance just do it.

Very good, son.

Put it on safe.

I got really emotional, and I was trying to contain that, because I didn't really want to show that I was not warrior status, but I was I was a little taken back by that experience, because to see it that close up was very intense.

And you're only human to feel something when you watch that, you know.

And if you don't, then I don't know what to tell you.

But I can see that Kealoha's son was also, like, understanding it.

Taking a moment.

He seemed very focused and serious, and I thought that was like a really awesome thing for him to like, be consciously thinking about.

Kealoha tells me that he wanted to give this experience to his son Kaiao - one that he didn't have as a child.

My generation, my father's generation, you know, people, we got busy with colonized lives and you know, we didn't get to do this kind of activity as often.

Or maybe it was viewed as too much work.

It's a piece that's missing, you know, and I'm glad that we can bring it back to a certain extent, you know.

I want to make them better than I was, right?

It's an amazing way to educate your kids on where food comes from.

We have to understand it doesn't just come delivered in a styrofoam tray with plastic over it.

So much goes into it.

Watch the angle of your blade because it's scrapping like this, see all that slicing.

So this is skin.

Chicharones.

That's what we call that.

Chicharron means crispy pork skin.

And trust me, it's worth every bit of this considerable effort.

Unlike beef or venison where you would just strip the skin off to make leather.

A lot of work.

Pigs are deeply rooted in Hawaii's food story.

They arrived with the first Polynesians that landed here with their ocean-going canoes.

They were brought here with the original... umm.... Settlers.

Settlers.

But they become a part of the environment and the culture over here.

Now for a natural exfoliant.

Papaya.

Yeah, the enzymes are breaking down the skin.

Kaiao brought this animal into the circle.

Now he'll be the one to make the first cut.

It's not just a knife in his hand.

It's responsibility and tradition.

Watching the harvest of the pig from start to finish was really beautiful to see, because you see the elders passing down that knowledge.

The uncles were there with the younger men teaching them.

The process was so intense.

Like, it was like, we got to move on to the next thing and the next thing and next, because they have a window that they were trying to get all this, you know, done.

The use of modern day machinery was, you know, allowed us to make this process less intense, but all of the meaning was still there.

And I think that's a good representation of how we can, bring that into our everyday life as merging the traditional with the modern.

The work will go on into the night, With a bonfire that will burn down to coals and hot rocks by morning.

So these slices will help heat kind of gets into pork more.

I try my best to kind of cut it with the grain.

Because if you cut it too much cross grain it ends up mushy.

I'm watching this fire.

This fire is going down quick, so we don't want to lose all that heat.

This pig got to be ready at the same time.

Kealoha was very particular about the rocks that he wanted to use for this.

Rocks hold energy, so from a spiritual aspect, he wants to get rocks that hadn't been used for anything else.

Right in the chest.

Look, you can already see, that rock cooking this meat over here.

It's got a nice sear.

It's already smelling good.

Bare handed.

Okay, we're going to form a line everybody's going to pass.

Bananas are another Polynesian import.

Banana stumps and leaves are the first layer over the hot rocks.

Banana's going to create a little buffer between the hot rocks and the pork.

And then it's also going to steam up and give it a nice flavor.

Not too much.

Not too much.

Not too much.

I don't want to smother it.

Okay, let's go, let's go, let's go.

One, two, three.

Let's go.

A few other things to go in the fire with the pig.

Including these chicken wire baskets of breadfruit.

Another import by the early Polynesian voyagers.

More tea leaves get piled on top.

One, it's like it's a good flavor for the meat.

And also to provide some moisture to the fire.

So it like, cools it down a little bit.

More tea leaves, more banana leaves.

Wet burlap.

Layer by layer, the Imu becomes a sacred bundle.

Start from the bottom and work your way up, like, create a seal around the edges so it doesn't leak.

Each one laid like an offering to the land and the ancestors.

And if they built it just right, the Imu will answer back.

That's a good sign right there.

That's a good sign Just shows that the heat is up.

The heat is, the heat is sufficient.

I mean, yeah, it's a good sign.

Also means we gotta hurry up.

This part has to move fast.

The stones hold the fire's mana, its spiritual power.

But that mana fades quickly.

If you don't trap it in time, the Earth won't cook the food.

This is like the oldest method of cooking.

It's cooking in the ground using the elements of, quite literally, the earth, to cook food.

And you have those rocks that came straight from the mountains.

Pretty cool.

Basically steaming, baking and smoking all at the same time.

We got it in the oven.

Now we gotta make sure that, yeah, it comes out the way we want it to.

It's kind of like one chance.

It's not like you can check it, stick a thermometer into it and, it's always a little nerve-racking.

It'll be perfect.

Now we have a few hours to wait.

Alright, good old outdoor cooking.

Chayote is a Mexican ingredient.

And it has the same consistency as a potato.

So.

Because, I'm bringing, like, a culturally significant dish to the dinner table.

The fact that I have chayote is great.

I'm making this chili with venison Wild Hawaiian venison.

These deer aren't native to Hawai'i so harvesting them helps protect the land.

Delicious, and doing good.

Gonna add a little bit of oil to that.

Going to let those cook a little bit, and then I'll add my venison.

I can't really adjust the heat on here.

The only thing I can do is move it over to that side of the grate.

Cane sugar just for a little bit of sweet.

Some salt.

This is a mixture of my very own bison spice.

This is the secret sauce right here.

Garlic.

Chayotes.

Now these tomato have some natural juices that are going to go into this.

I'm gonna add some water to this, then I'm gonna let it simmer.

You know, it adds a little bit of, different culture to the table.

A little Mexican spice in there.

Push it away to the side, out of the way.

After 9 hours, it's time to release the feast.

The build up, it's intense.

Everyone's excited to see if the pig turned out right.

I'll let you know in about 10 minutes.

Oh, my gosh, that color looks amazing.

The coloring on the outside of that pig is amazing.

It has some nice caramelization on the outside, which is a good sign.

That means that it's been In that heat, locked in.

And the skin looks crispy.

Oh, look at it falling out.

Oh my gosh.

Looks nice,guys.

Crispy.

Let's let's go, pick them.

Pick them up there.

Super tender.

Hey, take care of that stuff.

Do something with that.

Take off the skin and whatever.

Kind of like one of the telltale signs of Imu cooked or a whole hog is that, you know, it's going to have bits of skin in it.

It's kind of like the favorite part.

Everyone likes the skin.

Well, I mean, the skin is the prize, the prize part, right?

Yeah, exactly.

That crispy skin.

The chicharron.

That chicharron!

We cooked this pig and all of the dishes for the big party tomorrow to celebrate Kaiao's next chapter.

Being part of this - watching tradition come alive through food, through family, through fire, and passing those traditions on to the next generation.

It reminds me of what a gift it is to share a meal.

It feeds connection.

It honors life.

And I'm grateful to be able to say thank you for all of it.