Hawaiʻi has one finalist in the James Beard Awards nominations this year — the sherbet king himself, Neale Asato.
Out of nine local chefs selected for the semifinal round, Asato, who was nominated for Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker, was the only one to make it past the semifinals.
HPR recently connected with Asato to learn the family's interest in sherbet and the James Beard recognition.
Interview Highlights
On making it to the final round
NEALE ASATO: It just totally caught us off guard, just for the semifinalists. I had no idea we could even be nominated for it. So getting the finalists, I don't know it was just kind of speechless. I still don't really know what's going on. We're just super grateful for the honor and the recognition for our family's hard work over the years.
On his dessert-making origins
ASATO: Our whole family kind of grew up in the restaurant industry, so we all had a background working and kind of cooking. We used to live in Maui when we were kids, when I was in preschool, so we used to always go to Tasaka Guri Guri, and when we came back to Oʻahu, we kind of missed it, so we'd always make sherbet and ice cream at home. So when I wanted to do my own food business, I wanted to make something fun that was nostalgic, and Guri Guri kind of came up. So I started working on my own homemade sherbet recipes and ice cream, and then started selling it just to friends and family. And it just kind of organically grew over the years.
On the history of Asato Family Shop
ASATO: I started it by myself first at first, but it was kind of just like a home side project to see where I would go. And my mom came on when we moved to Hālawa, she was retiring from the DOE, and then the whole family started helping as it grew, and now we're finally starting to hire outside of family, and it's been great. It's hard to work with family sometimes, but they work the hardest for sure. ...
When I first was starting at home, it was really just to make extra money to help support my family. And then it's just been personal growth and growing with the business and trying to learn. I’m just grateful for the opportunity.
The James Beard Awards ceremony will take place in Chicago on June 15.
This story aired on The Conversation on April 27, 2026. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. Jinwook Lee adapted this story for the web.
