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UH-Maui College culinary arts making the grade

Spring Student Celebration Dinner showcased talents of up-and-comers to island community

By Carla Tracy 4 min read

University of Hawaii Maui College's the Leis Family Class Act set an elegant stage for the annual Spring Student Celebration Dinner last week, showcasing the talents of the young chefs to the community and industry supporters.

Over the years, the Class Act has been voted among the Top 100 restaurants in the United States and No. 2 overall Best Restaurant in Hawaii by users of Open Table. It's certified by the Chaine des Rotisseurs, the oldest culinary organization in the world.

The Class Act serves lunch twice a week on Wednesdays and Fridays when the college is in session. The dinner marked an upbeat evening ending to this semester.

"It's the semester end and a time to celebrate our student successes," says front of the house Lecturer Mark Malone. "Most of them are graduating. It's a time for the university to provide a nice opportunity for students to show off their skills to the community."

Awards were handed out as the patrons in the filled dining room savored gourmet cheeses such as Point Reyes blue with pear, goat cheese and beets, and St. Andre triple-cream cheese and fig -- paired with freshly baked walnut bread and fine wines generously provided by viticultural expert Alan Jahns of Paradise Beverages.

"The awards given out were as follows," explains UHMC Culinary Arts Coordinator and Pastry Chef Instructor Teresa Shurilla. " 'Excellence In the Back Of the House: Kitchen' went to Ryan Ginoza and Josh Madeiros, who each received in addition to a scholarship of $250, Japanese Shun knives donated by Mr. and Mrs. Marrs of Marmac Ace Hardware. The 'Excellence In the Front of the House: Dining Room' awards went to Nina Ulit and Lydia Yarofaichib, who both received in addition to their scholarships of $250, custom wine keys and wine glasses that weredonated by Jahns and Paradise Beverages."

The awards list goes on, and the following students were awarded $250 scholarships. For "Julie Umetsu Excellence In Hospitality Award," named for donor and much beloved former instructor Juli Umetsu, Stephanie Serraglio and Chloe Nakagawa won. The "Artsy Tartsy Excellence In Pastry" award went to Ronalyn Cabida. The "Student Choice Award for Excellence in Leadership' was won by Serraglio. The "Garde Manger" award went to Jayven Jocalne-Bonilla, pleased as pie to win a sous vide emersion circulator.

"He won the 'Garde Manger Cup,' which was a result of winning various culinary challenges throughout the course and accumulating the highest number of points from these challenges," says Shurilla.

The college is also now undergoing the hard process of getting its American Culinary Federation accreditation. The ACF Team of Steve Mannion and Scott Taylor enjoyed the dinner, while Michael Harants joined them in the First Year Celebration.

"I think that the First Year Celebration is very important because the culinary arts is such a difficult field to get started in. So halfway through we want to celebrate students' accomplishments, and it's also when they receive their chefs' jackets with the ribbons. We want to encourage them all to continue in the field of culinary arts," Shurilla says.

Keynote speaker was Taylor Ponte, who graduated from the UHMC program. He's now the executive chef of The Mill House at the Maui Tropical Plantation in Waikapu.

"As part of the experience, we take all of the students out to a fine-dining meal," says Tom Lelli, advanced cookery instructor. "We use tip money that customers leave at the restaurant. This year, we're all going to The Mill House."

While the students are done for the semester, UHMC Paina outlets are open until Thursday. It will reopen fully in August for the fall with service upstairs and downstairs.

"If you would like to get our Class Act updates, please leave an accurate message with your email and phone number," says Malone. "For more details, call the UHMC phone number at 984-3500 or the Class Act at 984-3280.

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