Kiki Aranita

Kiki Aranita was a chef/owner of the beloved, award-winning Poi Dog restaurant in Philadelphia. She frequently creates recipe-driven content for food brands, teaches recipe development at Drexel University, and writes about food culture and the restaurant industry for many publications.

Expertise: Hawaiian food, Chinese food, recipe development.

Experience: Kiki Aranita spent seven years as co-chef and owner of Hawaiian restaurant Poi Dog before closing its Philadelphia location in July 2020. She has continued to cook, through chef residencies at Jose Garces' Volver, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Bok Bar, and more. Kiki is a columnist for S.Pellegrino's Fine Dining Lovers and has written food and travel stories for USA Today, Food & Wine, and Roads & Kingdoms, among others. She has created content and recipes for numerous companies such as La Colombe Coffee and Sakara Life. At the end of 2020, Kiki launched a line of nationally distributed retail sauces rooted in Poi Dog's Hawaii-style cuisine.