Dr. Ray Lagger, one of ‘Ölelo pa‘a Faith Ogawa’s Big Island clients, had high expectations for his special dinner party for eight. “Please run with your creativity to make it really memorable,” the retired surgeon told Ogawa, an acclaimed private chef.

The guests of honor, after all, were to be Vice President Al Gore and his family.

Ogawa rose to the challenge in her usual unflappable style. Representing the best of the Big Island’s bounty, among the dishes she served that evening were Keahole lobster cocktail with avocado salsa, blue crab taro cakes with pohä berry/mango chutney, grilled prawns with a Ka‘ü orange citrus vinaigrette and Kamuela Pride beef tenderloin with Kona oyster mushroom anise jus.

For dessert, the distinguished group savored a fresh Liliko‘i tart, coconut cones with fresh tropical fruits and pina colada sorbet, and petit fours dramatically presented in a miniature rainforest setting made of ‘öhelo berry branches, ‘öhi‘a lehua blossoms and other native foliage. Dry ice added a mystical swirl of mist.

Such elaborate presentations are Ogawa’s signatures and one of the reasons why her loyal clientele includes celebrities and Fortune 500 executives. She has come a long way from her humble beginnings on a sugar plantation in Waipahu, O‘ahu, where, in the old Hawaiian way, her family grew vegetables and traded them for fresh fish.

Okinawan spinach, cabbage, liliko‘i (passion fruit), soybeans, guava, taro, sweet potatoes and mangoes were staples when she was a child. “Back then, we didn’t call it Hawai‘i Regional Cuisine,” Ogawa says. “We called it dinner.”

Today, such healthy, flavorful, locally grown ingredients form the heart of her “Conscious Hawaiian Cuisine,” which she says is based on knowledge of and respect for the ‘äina (land), farmers and products as well as her staff, guests and environment where her meals are served. “‘Conscious’ means to awaken the spirit, to have clarity, to feel the essence of life and allow the higher source to work through me,” she explains. Fittingly, she named the company she started 15 years ago Dining by Faith.

In the 1970s, Ogawa completed the culinary program at Leeward Community College—one of only a few women who were pursuing careers as chefs at that time. After graduation, she continued her education on numerous culinary trips throughout Europe, Asia and the Mainland United States.

Ogawa honed her skills at top resorts, including Mauna Lani Resort on the Big Island. She’s a founding member of the Hawai‘i chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier International (an organization of women leaders in the culinary, fine beverage and hospitality professions across North America and Australia); an inductee of the Hawai‘i Culinary and Hospitality Hall of Fame; and author of “Pono Ono,” a quarterly food column for Hawaiian Style Magazine.

Her Hawaiian name ‘Ölelo pa‘a, which means “forever, the very spark of existence,” was bestowed by Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len, her beloved mentor, as she was going through a period of deep introspection. “For years, while raising my son Kahlil as a single parent, I lost touch with myself,” says Ogawa. “By going through the Self Identity through Ho‘oponopono program [www.hooponopono.org], I was able to rediscover myself and realize how much of an impact I made on everything around me through my thoughts, words and actions.”

She believes everything is connected—humans, plants, animals, and animate and inanimate objects. For that reason, she notes she is “gentle with food as I prepare it. Its mana (life force) and mine are passed to everyone who partakes in the meal. When I cook, it’s like I’m dancing in the kitchen. It’s a beautiful experience.”

Ogawa doesn’t offer set menus; instead, each is custom designed, based on her clients’ preferences and her innate sense of knowing what they will enjoy.

Differentiating herself as a private chef rather than “just” a caterer, she notes: “I create unique dining experiences that my clients can’t get at a restaurant. Whenever possible, I tell them about the area the produce came from, the farmers who grew them and the inspiration for each dish. I’m passionate about my work. When I cook, I cook from my heart.”