‘Fine food, fine spirits and friends’

PUHI — The students passed with flying colors, Friday, said Dr. John Morton, vice president of the University of Hawai‘i Community Colleges.

Morton flew in from Honolulu to join more than 300 guests at the Eighth Annual Culinary Institute of the Pacific Gourmet Spring Gala at the Kaua‘i Community College dining facility.

There are more than 800 students within the culinary arts program in the University of Hawai‘i system, and to accomplish a feat like the gala which has sold out every year since its inception, there needs to be a lot of support, Morton said.

There were guest chefs, including Alan Wong who has been flying over to participate in the event each year since the start, the culinary arts students, who were joined by seven culinary arts academy students from Waimea High School and 17 Academy of Hospitality and Travel students from Kaua‘i High School, and of course, the community, Morton said.

Guests who paid $100 per ticket for the event which is a fundraising effort to help the KCC culinary arts program through the Culinary Institute of the Pacific were treated to not only good food, but wine and beverages paired to go along with the appropriate presentations.

“The Eighth Annual Spring Gourmet Gala is the event for enjoying fine food, fine spirits and friends,” said KCC Chancellor Helen Cox in her message from the program. “It enables our students to work and learn in the best possible kind of classroom — the real world!”

Conrad Nonaka, a Kaua‘i native, said the Culinary Institute of the Pacific hosts similar events throughout the University of Hawai‘i system to help the students.

He said he will return with the Hawai‘i Flour Mill personnel in early May for a day-long career path seminar with the students in learning how to get the most of a food show, taking the culinary arts students out of the kitchen and showing them more of the surroundings behind cooking.

In addition to the fine dining, a silent auction offered patrons an opportunity to bid on items at bargain prices while helping the culinary arts program. Randall Francisco, the president of the Kaua‘i Chamber of Commerce, did an effective job of melding diners, chefs, entertainment and the auction into a “cha-ching” event.

True to its gourmet offering, Chef Colin Hazama of the Kaua‘i Grill at St. Regis in Princeville was on hand with his crew preparing Basil Compressed Japan Hamachi, Local Meyer Pineapple Jam, Fresh Wasabi, Kaua‘i Salt.

“Colin is a semifinalist for a James Beard Foundation award,” said Stephanie Kaluahine-Read of the St. Regis. “Starwood has 700 properties and he was the only one nominated for the honor.”

The James Beard Foundation awards has been likened to the Oscars of the culinary world, and Hazama is a semifinalist in the Rising Star Chef of the Year category with the winners being announced May 3 in New York.

Also in the running is Alan Wong’s Restaurant, Honolulu, in the Outstanding Restaurant category. For the gala, Wong was preparing Kona Cold Lobster Medallion, Hamura Saimin, Red Onion Butter, Kona Abalone and Tako Salad, Big Island Hearts of Palm.

Cox said the community’s support through the eight years of the gala has helped the KCC Culinary Arts program achieve such a high level of excellence, it has received national recognition.

“Graduates of the program are not only well-trained to begin their careers, they are also prepared to continue their education,” the chancellor said. “As part of the University of Hawai‘i Community College’s Culinary Institute of the Pacific, KCC provides a seamless pathway to further educational opportunities for our students.”

Visit the KCC Web site at www.kauai.hawaii.edu for more information.