Episode 151
Kiki Aranita: Poi Dog
Aired: Friday, January 22nd 2021
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HOSTED BY
Ethan Frisch Vallery Lomas
Join us for a conversation with chef and entrepreneur Kiki Aranita. Kiki is co-chef and owner of Poi Dog, a Hawaiian restaurant and catering company that closed its Rittenhouse, Philadelphia location in July 2020. For years, her goals involved celebrating the underrepresented cuisines of multicultural origins as well as seeking to minimize food waste. She recently launched a line of bottled Poi Dog sauces inspired by Hawaiian cuisine and favorite dishes from her restaurant. She is also a writer who has contributed food writing and narratives to many publications and has served on the charitable events boards of No Kid Hungry Philadelphia, C-CAP Philadelphia, Feastival, and Vetri Community Partnership’s Eat to Empower. A former classicist who specialized in the reception of classical epic poetry, she is the current chair of the Hahn Scholarship Committee, which sends students to the American School of Classical Studies at Athens and the American Academy in Rome.