Breadfruit got a boost on Big Pine Key last week. Celebrity chef Sam Choy brought out the best of the ancient tropical fruit during a cultural dinner at Grimal Grove, the only breadfruit grove in the continental United States.
The two-acre tropical fruit sanctuary hosted a cultural dinner on March 21, featuring Choy, the “godfather of poke,” who served his specialty, along with assorted recipes featuring breadfruit.
Choy headlined the event to highlight the versatility of breadfruit, bridging the gap between its agricultural roots and modern island cuisine and elevating the fruit from island staple to specialty. Known for their productivity, each mature breadfruit tree can produce hundreds of fruits per year. One tree can feed a family of four for a lifetime and the fruit is rich in protein, dietary fiber, complex carbohydrates and other vitamins.
Choy shared the history of the breadfruit, or ʻulu, as it is called in his native Hawaii. For Choy, breadfruit is a cultural and nutritional powerhouse that originated in the South Pacific more than 3,000 years ago and later made its way to Hawaii and eventually the Caribbean. It was first planted in the Keys in the 1850s.
The large, starchy fruits have been cultivated for centuries, serving as a staple food source in many regions. In 2019, Grimal Grove planted the first breadfruit grove in the continental United States.
“I did a lot of work with breadfruit and pioneered it in Hawaii,” Choy told the Grimal Grove dinner guests, adding that he worked with scientists to help preserve the 150 varieties found in Hawaii. “It’s a very healthy food. Hawaiians have been eating it for years along with taro. It helps build strong, muscular bodies.”
The key to introducing breadfruit to younger generations lies in rethinking how the fruit is prepared, Choy said, by transforming the texture into mashes or au gratins rather than the “rock-hard” preparations of the past.
And he proved it on the plate. In addition to Choy’s signature tuna poke — fresh seafood layered with bright flavors and local produce — the chef celebrated the breadfruit’s bounty.
At Grimal Grove, guests sampled brie wonton wraps with breadfruit and pineapple; breadfruit patties with local smoked tuna and breadfruit chips & salsa. The fruit was also served in a tabbouleh-quinoa-style salad. It was mashed and paired with flank steak and crisped up as nuggets with island garlic chicken.
For Patrick Garvey, owner of Grimal Grove and founder of the associated Growing Hope Foundation, the event was the fulfillment of a decade-long journey to restore the vision of the grove’s original creator, Adolf Grimal.
“I was drawn to the abandoned property,” Garvey said of his first encounter with the site in 2011. “As I delved into the history of Adolf Grimal and his botanical exploits, I found myself captivated by the legacy of this place. I felt it was my mission to breathe new life into this one-of-a-kind sanctuary, following in the footsteps of Grimal.”
Created in the 1950s by Grimal, the property is now run by the Growing Hope Foundation and has been rebuilt after severe hurricane damage. Today, it is a working “food forest” featuring rare species like black sapote, jackfruit and its signature breadfruit grove.
As part of the March 21 dinner event, guests joined Russell Fielding for a breadfruit tour, learning about the crop’s travels across oceans. The night also featured performances by Drums of Polynesia and fire dancers.
Choy, a James Beard Award winner who has designed menus for the Waldorf-Astoria, sees partnerships like Grimal Grove as the future of food.
“This whole movement with the breadfruit is going to be big,” he said. “Once this thing gets off and running, it’s going to be amazing.”More information is at grimalgrove.com/events.
