This year’s annual Noble Chef benefit for the Maui Culinary Academy at the University of Hawaii Maui College exceeded its goals with nearly $100,000 in funds raised. The 17th annual fundraiser, held Oct. 26 in Wailea, amassed the money to help support program development and growth of the award-winning Culinary Academy. The money also will be earmarked to support the Noble Chef Scholarship Endowment fund. The Noble Chef event–which features a mentoring program that pairs Maui’s celebrity chefs and MCA students–is the academy’s largest annual fundraiser.
The theme of this year’s Noble Chef was “The World on a Plate,” and featured a reception with a celebrity chef-designed menu that included flavors from Japan, Vietnam, Morocco, Spain, Great Britain, India, Greece, New Zealand and Mexico–all culinary hot spots of the world. After the reception, guests were served a multi-course gourmet French dinner and dessert prepared by MCA’s students and faculty chefs. The evening included a performance by French chanteuse Lydia Panzik.
Great food may have seemed to be the focus of the event, but the fundraising was actually the key aspect of The Noble Chef.
“In its simplest form, The Noble Chef inspires the noble act of ‘reciprocity’, of giving back in support of the culinary craft we hold so dear and the unlimited potential of tomorrow’s chefs,” said MCA’s external coordinator and faculty chef Chris Speere.
Fairmont Kea Lani Executive Chef Tylun Pang, who serves as a lead mentor, also lauded the academy. “I am very proud to continually support the Maui Culinary Academy,” said Pang. “To see students receive such a high caliber of culinary education and training right here on Maui is very exciting. Some of my best chefs are graduates of the program.”
Photo of Chris Speere and Diane Haynes courtesy Maui Culinary Academy
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