Meet Kealoha

"‘Ono kāhi ‘ao lū‘au me ke aloha pū.”
A little taro green is delicious when love is present. (Even the plainest fare is delicious when
there is love.)
ʻŌlelo No‘eau, Mary Kawena Pukui & Dietrich Varez, #2523.

Kealoha Domingo is the chef and founder of Nui Kealoha, a family-run company that offers food
and education grounded in the traditional values and cultural practices of his Hawaiian ancestral
roots.

Nui Kealoha’s work honors the spiritual connection between the ‘āina (land), kānaka
(humankind), and mea ‘ai (food). The meals they prepare and serve express respect for
traditional foodways, together with innovation born from contemporary creativity in the
professional kitchen.

Born & raised on O‘ahu, Kealoha is part of a multi-generational lineage of Hawaiian practitioners
with a genuine love for food. His aloha for the ‘āina of his home and the community that he
feeds is informed by his grounding in Hawaiian perspectives, and has earned him praise and
respect throughout the pae ‘āina Hawai‘i. Raised in a food-centric ʻohana, Kealoha grew up
preparing meals for countless gatherings, with traditional ‘imu and other elements of traditional
Hawaiian food. Kealoha was mentored by family members in the food industry as well as
generations of ancestors who carried the cultural responsibility for cooking and healing. He has
inherited an innate need and responsibility to continue his family’s kulena to those duties in
service to his community.

Kealoha is an active community leader, dedicating time outside of the kitchen to support
organizations that are doing critical work to strengthen the lāhui and the community at large,
including Ke Kula 'o Samuel M. Kamakau Public Charter School, Papahana Kuaola and more.
Kealoha is a featured chef at each Hawaiʻi Food and Wine Festival and has appeared in
specials produced by the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, PBS Hawaiʻi’s
Alter-NATIVE and Family Ingredients series, and more.