The Fairmont Orchid is paying homage to Hawai‘i’s iconic Hōkūle‘a voyage with a chocolate canoe on display in the resort’s lobby until Jan. 2, 2019.
Chocolate canoe. Courtesy photo.
Crafted by the Fairmont Orchid Pastry Team led by Chef Daniel Sampson, the 13-foot long, nine foot tall chocolate vessel is made of 140 pounds of chocolate, 80 pounds of gingerbread and 45 pounds of royal icing. The canoe is also a nod to the Disney movie Moana, in which the people of Polynesia lost their sailing tradition until a young heroine from the village took to the seas to reclaim the ancient art of wayfinding. In much the same way, our voyaging tradition in Hawai‘i was on the verge of extinction until it came to life in Hōkūle‘a—a double-hulled sailing canoe that traveled the world to deliver a message of hope and cultural revival.
A chocolate canoe. Courtesy photo.
The iconic canoe set sail on its maiden voyage in 1976 to Tahiti, making it the first time in 600 years that a Polynesian voyaging canoe sailed across the ocean. Then in the summer of 2014, Hōkūle‘a circumnavigated the globe for three years, covering 46,000 miles and 26 countries. While paying homage to the seafaring techniques of her ancestors, she also charts the course for future generations as she delivers a message of caring for the earth.
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