Hawaiian Airlines recently announced that Chef Chai Chaowasaree has been appointed as executive chef and will design its inflight meal program for First Class and Coach Class passengers.
Chef Chai will initially design the menus for Hawaiian’s new daily, nonstop flights between Honolulu and Tokyo, which launches November 17, before designing the menus for all of Hawaiian’s domestic and international flights systemwide in 2011, including the start of service four times weekly to Seoul on January 12.
Blaine Miyasato, Hawaiian’s vice president of product development, said that “Chef Chai brings a fresh, pan-Asian approach to cuisine that is a reflection of Hawaii’s diverse cultural influences and the perfect complement to Hawaiian’s growing international service.”
Based in Honolulu, Chef Chai owns two popular Hawaii restaurants, Singha Thai Cuisine in Waikiki and Chai’s Island Bistro at Aloha Tower Marketplace in Honolulu. He uses only fresh ingredients from the Hawaiian Islands and, as a founding member of Hawaii’s Island Chefs, is committed to promoting the agriculture and aquaculture of the islands. Each week, Chef Chai hosts a Hawaii TV cooking show, and last year authored The Island Bistro Cookbook, which earned an award of excellence from the Hawaii Book Publisher Association.
Hawaiian will also be offering wine pairings selected by Master Sommelier Chuck Furuya, who became the first person in Hawaii and the 10th person in the United States overall to earn the title of Master Sommelier in 1988.
