Former Kapa’a resident Curtis Horka wanted to become the best cook he could be. He ended up at the Greenbrier Resort in White Sulfur Springs, W. Va., among the oldest and most prestigious resorts in the U.S. On a recent
Former Kapa’a resident Curtis Horka wanted to become the best cook he could be. He ended up at the Greenbrier Resort in White Sulfur Springs, W. Va., among the oldest and most prestigious resorts in the U.S.
On a recent visit to Kaua’i, Horka, 22, said he’s a pastry chef at the Greenbrier and is applying for a free chef training program that could prepare him for work in the world’s best restaurants.
Horka said he has always had an interest in food, first working for his father at Duane’s Ono Burger in Anahola in the 1980s.
After graduating from Kapa’a High School in 1998, he enrolled in the culinary food program at Kaua’i Community College because he wanted to become a top cook, he said.
In recent years, KCC’s culinary graduates have found work at some of the best restaurants and hotels in Hawai’i and on the mainland.
“Without that program, I probably wouldn’t be where I am today,” Horka said. “I am thankful.”
Horka said he has visited the school and has encouraged culinary students to check into opportunities at the Greenbrier.
After graduating from KCC, he helped his brother set up a college bar club in a LeGrande, Ore. In 2000, he attended a chefs’ convention in Nashville, Tenn. and met an executive pastry chef from the Greenbrier, leading to his job there.
The chef apprenticeship program he’s signed up for could take up to four years to complete. He said it would cost him as much as $30,000 if he had to pay for the training.
“I am trying to gain as much knowledge about cooking as I can,” Horka said. “My main goal is to come home and work in the food industry on Kaua’i.”
Staff writer Lester Chang can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) and mailto:lchang@pulitzer.net
