Team Hawai`i Prepares for the Regionals

Kapiʻolani Community College
Contact:
Louise Yamamoto, (808) 734-9513
Director, College Relations, Office for College and Community Relations
Posted: Jan 26, 2017

L-R:  Qihao (Sam) Tan, Jeremy David
L-R: Qihao (Sam) Tan, Jeremy David

It is said that the best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today. And so it has been for six student chefs at Kapi'olani Community College who have been perfecting their techniques and honing their skills as they prepare to compete in the Central and Western Regional Salons scheduled for February 3 - 5, 2017 in Joliet, Illinois.

Jeremy C. David, Richard G. Lee, Kimberly Lim, Qihao (Sam) Tan, Sean K. Uyehara, and Christian Rae K. Wong comprise the American Culinary Federation (ACF) Honolulu Chapter/Kapi'olani Community College Team and have the honor to represent the state of Hawai'i in the Regional Salon. They were selected among other finalists in the State Culinary Competition Expo sanctioned by the American Culinary Federation that was held in December 2016. Since then, team members under the guidance of chef-instructor Jason Peel have been spending hours learning nuances of the trade and fine-tuning their techniques in various categories of food preparation.

Why do these culinary students turn away from, say, socializing with friends and instead dedicate themselves to competition? One student explained, "Competition is a teacher, too. Through endless repetition I am learning that I can own a process as I become intimately familiar with it."

Dedication and respect for his craft resonate with Chef Peel. "I have seen the competition for 4 years now, and I believe diversity and creativity of our cuisine here in Hawai'i are as good, if not better than, anywhere else. And, our student team and all our chefs are definitely dedicated to what they do."

Chef Jason Peel says Team Hawai'i wants to make the college and the state proud of their efforts.