LIHUE — The Kauai Chamber of Commerce distributed more than $10,000 in scholarships Thursday during its second quarter membership meeting at the Kauai Marriott Resort & Beach Club.
Funded in part by the chamber’s annual golf tournament sponsored by Y. Hata and Company, the chamber distributed $2,000 each to five graduated high school seniors, and $500 to a Kauai Community College student, who all are or will be studying business or a business-related field in college.
This year, all five of the high school seniors graduated from Kauai High School, including Isabel Gampon, who earned the 2019 Miss Kauai Filipina crown last Saturday. Other recipients include Kaytlen Wailani Caires Akau, Sophia Anderson, Abishai Christensen and Cheyann Fujii.
Jamin Fernandez is the KCC recipient studying business.
The scholarship recipients and their guests celebrated the evening with a four-course, plated dinner shared by over 350 people at the event sponsored by Corteva Agriscience. The company themed the evening a celebration of food from farms to plates. State Senate President Ron Kouchi made brief remarks following the meal.
Bennette Misalucha, executive director of the Hawaii Crop Improvement Association, served as the evening’s emcee. Guest Lance Segawa, CEO of the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation, Kauai Region, said his facilities only recently started working with the farm to table program in meals being prepared and served at Kauai Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waimea and Samuel Mahelona Memorial Hospital in Kapaa.
Ms. Hawaii Amanda Smith is the executive director of Menehune Chef, and is working to provide functional, intuitive and practical cooking education to children using all local Hawaiian-sourced ingredients.
“I just came to check this out,” said chef Rafael Camarillo of the Koloa Landing Resort. “Normally, we’re the ones preparing this. Tonight, I was invited to come, so I’m just seeing how this works.”
Other guests involved in farm to plate include state Department of Agriculture chairperson Phyllis Shimabukuro-Geiser, the state Department of Education Food Services Program Administrator Albert Scales III, DOE Farm to School Program Specialist Dexter Kishida, and state DOE Kauai Complex Area Superintendent William Arakaki.
Guests were treated to a special farms to plate menu, including Kauai Shrimp “Filipino style” ceviche, calmanci shoyu, fried garlic and ogo relish.
Salad included Kauai Fresh Farms greens and tomatoes, grilled Ok King Farms eggplant, Tahini yogurt dressing, herb chickpea croutons followed by Kunoa braised boneless short ribs, Hamakua Mushroom sauce, Twin Bridge asparagus, and Twin Bridge sweet potato puree.
The meal was rounded out by Kauai Coffee and salted caramel cheesecake with Kula Strawberries.
