So what is an East O'ahu boy, a Kaiser grad, a Chinese-American, doing making pasta by hand in a high-end Italian restaurant in New York?

Tony Liu, speaking by phone from his office at Morandi, ponders the question: "Well, I had a good understanding of Asian cooking; I wanted to see more of a Western philosophy and style of food, so I ended up traveling to Spain and then coming back and working all over New York. Cooking is such a great profession. You get to see so many things, taste so many things."

And Liu has, indeed, done that.

He'll share some of what he learned when he visits home in mid-October to serve as guest chef for Ho'okipa, the annual fund-raiser for the Culinary Institute of the Pacific. While here, he'll teach a professional "Pasta Primer" class for students and members of the industry at Kapi'olani Community College and on the Big Island.

He grew up in 'Aina Haina in a family where both parents were good cooks; his mom cooked every day, his dad cooked on special occasions. He always enjoyed cooking. His first job was at a nearby Korean barbecue spot.

After graduation, it was only natural that Liu enroll in the culinary program at Kapi'iolani Community College. After receiving his degree, he worked lowly positions in some of the Islands' best kitchens, including Roy's Restaurant, 3660 on the Rise, The Lodge at Koele and the Hilton Waikoloa.

But friends of his were heading off to the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y., a common route for serious culinary students from Hawai'i. Roy Yamaguchi urged him to go, too; if he wanted to get ahead, even if his ultimate goal was to do so in the Islands, he had to first get some experience and advanced training out in the broader world.

He went.

On weekends, he'd go down to The City (as New Yorkers tend to call the center of their universe) and he'd visit not just the fronts of the houses, but the kitchens of anyone to whom he could cadge an introduction.

His best pals were Kevin Chong, now chef de cuisine at Chef Mavro, and Keoni Chang, who is corporate chef at Foodland.

After graduation, he worked in some of the finest kitchens in New York — Daniel (French), Tabla (Indian) — and then he headed to Spain where he worked at internationally acclaimed Martin Berasategui, near Lasarte on the Atlantic coast of northern Spain near the French border.

When he returned to New York, Liu became sous chef at Mario Batali's Babbo (Italian) and later moved on to the impossible-to-get-into August, where he pulled together the influences of all his European experiences, preparing traditional regional European dishes in authentic style.

Now 34 and married, father of a 2 1/2-year-old son, Liu seems pretty firmly entrenched in the Big Apple, but says he's delighted to have any chance to come home. He does so at least once a year.

"Right now," he said, "I could probably go for a little musubi with a little fried chicken on the side and a liliko'i drink." Just to be clear: That would be his mom's fried chicken and her musubi rice balls.

"Food memories last longer with you than any other memory," he said. "It's taste and smell and touch — all that. That's what makes food so powerful, and it begins at home."