Zephanie’s Pizza
Kahuku, Hawaii
When it comes to world-class surfing, the North Shore of Oahu is a destination unto itself. The owners of Zephanie’s Pizza are creating yet another reason to visit the Hawaiian island’s more rural side, courtesy of a signature pizza dough you simply can’t get on the mainland.
Located in Kahuku, Hawaii, Zephanie’s Pizza offers 12-inch Neapolitan-style pizzas available on traditional or taro crusts. Made with the root vegetable popular in Hawaiian cuisine, taro crust is intriguing not only because of its nutty taste but also its bright purple cornicione.
Taro Pizza Dough
Since taro is a starchy vegetable, getting the dough recipe just right took quite a bit of trial and error. “It works a little bit differently,” says Zach Draper, who owns Zephanie’s with his wife, Stephanie. Their hybrid wood-gas oven gives the taro dough pies a thick crust with traditional leoparding. “The end product’s a little more dense, and it has more of a mochi taste to it.”
With Zephanie’s located so close to the beach, humidity is constantly changing, requiring slight tweaks such as the use of ice water to manage dough temperature, Zach says.
Asian And Pacific Flavors
Once the Drapers had refined their taro dough recipe, they sought to incorporate more Asian-Pacific Island influences. The Bánh Mì Pizza is a nod to Stephanie Draper’s Vietnamese heritage, with a soy sesame base, kalua pork, pickled veggies and a sriracha aioli.
“It depends what region of Vietnam you’re from, because everyone does (bánh mì) differently. But for us, I based it off my own taste palate from growing up,” she tells Pizza Today. “That’s why the Bánh Mì is so fun, because every time I eat that, it reminds me dearly of growing up.”
Zephanie’s other signature pies include the Hukilau – a pineapple and kalua pork pizza topped with barbecue sauce and served on taro crust – as well as Steph’s Curry, a Thai green curry chicken pizza. All Zephanie’s pizzas can be ordered on traditional Neapolitan or taro dough.
Fusion pizza toppings and eye-catching purple crusts have caught the attention of everyone from locals to Alayna Galea’i-Finau, a digital creator and the wife of PGA golfer Tony Finau.
Getting To Hawaii
Away from the city of Honolulu, the North Shore is primarily fueled by small businesses such as Zephanie’s. The Drapers had their food truck built out in Idaho and shipped to Hawaii from California. “We put everything together as much as we could … fastened everything down,” Zach says. “We brought it over here and finished it ourselves.”
The Drapers say tour guides often will bring 30-40 visitors to the North Shore to spend hours on the beach, with stops for regional cuisine. They currently are opening a second Zephanie’s Pizza location at the Polynesian Cultural Center in Lā’ie, one town over from the food truck park where they will continue to operate. Situated in a marketplace featuring jewelry, souvenirs and food in front of the park, the kiosk will operate as a grab-and-go location.
