If you love food, you will fall in love with Rachel Fukumoto, a business owner and agricultural enthusiast based in Keaʻau, Hawaiʻi. In this insightful episode, we learn about Rachel's foodpreneur endeavors through her business, The Pastry Farmer. From living in a convent on a sustainable farm to training to become a farmer, she shares her winding path into agriculture and her deep-rooted desire to feed communities across Hawaiʻi. We dive into the functional quirks of being a petite, female farmer, the meditative power of observing land and the importance of connecting to our food sources. Rachel reflects on food security in Hawaiʻi, shares the origin story behind her signature fruit tarts, and even gifts us a fresh daikon salad recipe. You'll also hear about why she loves growin tea and how CSA boxes are basically "love in produce form." This conversation is perfect for some grounding inspo and some laughs. Bon appétit - we go eat!

Episode Highlights

0:23 Introduction to Rachel (and grad school memories!)

2:55 Love of agriculture and feeding Hawaiʻi communities

4:11 The spark: living in a convent on a sustainable farm

5:26 Becoming a farmer

8:19 The power of being grounded, kilo (observing) as active meditation

11:06 Everyone has a connection to food, food (in)security in Hawaiʻi

13:27 The quirks, joys and challenges of of being a wahine farmer

17:42 Origins of The Pastry Farmer

20:12 The fruit tart as a canvas

20:49 Fukumoto Farms through GoFarm Hawaiʻi

22:21 CSA boxes are the best! (Community Supported Agriculture)

25:12 Recipe: Fresh daikon salad

27:13 The plate test - where are your ingredients from?

28:24 Growing root crops and tea

30:46 Tempura tea leaf surprise

32:56 The infamous cane spider

36:10 Farmers are our friends, get to know them :)

Learn more at: https://thepastryfarmer.com/

Host and Producer: Molly Mamaril

Guitarist: Amund Gismervik