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| From Left to right, Dean Okimoto, president of the Hawaii Agricultural Foundation; Hi‘lei Kawelo, executive director of Paepae o He‘era; Rick Barboza, hanaola director of Papahana Kuaola; HFWF co-chairs Alan Wong and Roy Yamaguchi; Michael Pecsok, vice chancellor for academic affairs and chief academic officer at Leeward Community College and John Morton, vice president for community colleges for the University of Hawaii |
Representatives of The Hawaii Food & Wine Festival (HFWF) recently presented checks to five local nonprofit beneficiaries totaling $210,000 in a special presentation at Kapi‘olani Community College’s Ka ‘Ikena dining room.
The net proceeds raised during the 2012 festival went to the Hawaii Agricultural Foundation ($80,000), Culinary Institute of the Pacific ($80,000), Leeward Community College Culinary Arts Program ($30,000), Paepae o He‘eia ($10,000), and Papahana Kuaola ($10,000).
Since its inception in 2011, HFWF has raised nearly $500,000 for these organizations.
“In partnership with the tourism industry, we created this festival in 2011 to give travelers to Hawaii and residents alike a world-class food festival featuring top chefs and wine makers from around the globe, while showcasing the bounty of incredible ingredients the islands have to offer,” said Roy Yamaguchi, HFWF co-chair and owner of Roy’s Restaurants. “As a result of the festival’s success the past two years, we’ve been able to fulfill the festival’s equally important mission of providing our beneficiaries funding to support their important food sustainability, cultural, and educational efforts.“
HFWF co-chairs and chefs Yamaguchi and Alan Wong, owner of Alan Wong’s Restaurants, presented the checks during a Mahalo Reception thanking the festival’s partners and participants for making last year’s festival a sold out success.
“The support from the visitor industry and local community has been tremendous and instrumental in our ability to offer unique events that sets our festival apart from others across the country,” Wong said. “The guest chefs love coming to Hawaii to cook, attendees really enjoy the opportunity to learn about where the food comes from and meet the chefs, and everyone leaves inspired by the experience. It’s a win-win for everyone involved.”
Through the industry’s efforts in 2012, more than 4,000 visitors and residents from around the world attended 15 events at six venues on Oahu featuring 61 chefs, four master sommeliers, 25 top-tier winemakers and 31 local farmers, artisan food producers and innovators. These chefs and participants shared their expertise and skills with more than 200 culinary students from Kapi‘olani Community College, Leeward Community College, Maui College and Kaua‘i Community College who were able to work side-by-side with some of the most respected names in the industry for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
The 2013 Hawaii Food & Wine Festival is set for Sept. 1-8 and will kick off with an event on Maui (Sept. 1) before returning to Oahu (Sept. 5-8) for the main events. For more information, please
Visit www.HawaiiFoodandWineFestival.com.