| april 2018 11
in THE KiTCHEn
mel pau‘ole is an
icon of outrigger
canoe paddling.
mel crafted new
cabinets doors and
drawers out of light
maple for his Kailua-
Kona kitchen.
hen Kona residents Mel and
Sunny Pau‘ole set out to
refurbish their 30-year-old
kitchen cabinets last year,
they explored many options,
most of which were outside their price range. To
save money, Mel decided he would take a crack at
crafting new doors and drawers himself.
A renowned maker of koa racing canoe paddles,
Mel had the skills to accomplish the task. Using
wavy glass paneling and light maple wood, he
created fabulous cabinet doors to match the equally
fabulous drawers, all for under $400 in materials.
“I love how they turned out,” he said. “It’s
quite different from the original cabinets. I
used common sense in fi guring out how to
build them. Aloha Woods in Kailua-Kona has
most everything you would need.”
An icon in the world of outrigger canoe paddling,
Mel is a world-championship paddler who was one
of the fi rst members of the famed Waikiki Beachboys
Canoe Club, paddling with the original Hawaiian
Warriors crew in the ’70s. He also participated in the
very fi rst sailing canoe race from O‘ahu to Kaua‘i,
and through the decades, has won countless world
championship races throughout the South Pacifi c
and in his native state of Hawai‘i. A longtime coach,
Mel has paddled for Kai ‘Opua in Kailua-Kona, and is
currently with Keauhou Canoe Club.
Now 73, Mel still takes his one-man canoe out on
his own several times a week. He continues to do
woodworking projects when inspiration strikes.
People in the paddling community recognize a Mel
Pau‘ole paddle the minute they see one. His koa wall
paddles and petroglyph clocks are classics.
The upgraded kitchen makes it more enjoyable to
cook, says Mel. His favorite recipe is beef stew, which
used to take him a good day to prepare. His revised
recipe is much more convenient.
“Now I use steak meat, which is really easy because
you can boil it for ten minutes and then add the
ingredients. It tastes great.”
rECipE
mel’s Beef stew
2 lbs. steak, cut up in 1-2” squares
2T Hawaiian salt
2 8-oz. Cans tomato sauce
3 small carrots, sliced 1/4” thick
2 small maui onions, cut up medium
3 stalks celery, sliced
2 large peeled potatoes,
cut into medium chunks
1/2 cups Flour
1/2 cup shoyu sauce
2 Bay leaves
2 tsps pepper
Place meat and salt in a large pot, adding just enough
water to cover the meat. Cook on medium high for 30
minutes. Add remain ingredients and cook on low for 2
hours. Remove bay leaves. Thicken with 1/2 cup fl our
mixed with 1/2 cup warm water. Let sit 30 minutes
before serving. Serve over steamed white rice. Great
warmed up for breakfast the next day. Serves 6.