“School Chef’s Table” Culinary Training

Posted On: Dec 01, 11

On November 7, 2011, Grow Hawai’i and the Kokua Hawai’i Foundation brought a group of over 14 school food professionals from the Department of Education and the Hawai’i Association of Independent Schools together for the “School Chef’s Table.”  Held at the Culinary Institute of the Pacific on the Kapi’olani Community College campus, the school chefs were priviledged to sharpen their culinary skills while mixing in some creative ways to serve healthy, locally sourced food with Chef Instructor and award-winning culinary competition manager Chef Alan Tsuchiyama. The evening included a tasting menu created by Chef Alan, a reminder on the benefits of sourcing local (freshness and taste) and a hands-on meal creation exercise in teams of two.

Currently there is no active professional association for school food professionals. This event was also a way to test the waters on the viability of creating a “chef’s table” for all school food professionals to develop themselves and their teams, creating a place for problem solving, and sharing best practices. The evening ended with a challenge to all the School Chefs to implement what they just learned during the upcoming spring semester, sourcing as much local produce and meats as possible.