Culinary Club Shines at Statewide Contest

By Jack Kiyonaga | Editor 

Photo courtesy of Tiare Hubbard.

For the second straight year, Molokai High School (MHS) Culinary Club placed in the top two at the prestigious Localicious Recipe Contest at the Hawaii Food and Wine Festival. This year, senior Aiko Kanemitsu took second place at the cooking event. 

Out of 127 high school competitors statewide, Kanemitsu was one of three finalists chosen. The finalists competed in a cook-off style contest on Oct. 28 at the Bishop Museum. Accompanying Kanemitsu were four other MHS students who had participated in the preliminary competition as well. 

The theme for this year’s contest was what type of dish you would like to see in school lunches. Kanemitsu explained that she was inspired by Molokai’s unique hunting culture and sustainable lifestyle when creating her meal of venison stuffed mushrooms. 

“Obviously the deer population is a problem,” she said. “Since we already have [deer] here we don’t need to get prepackaged foods from the mainland. We can just get it from right here.” 

One of the keys to Kanemitsu’s recipe was fresh fennel, she explained, which enhances the taste of the venison. 

Shazen Bush, a fellow Culinary Club member who made the trip to Oahu as well, explained that they focused on “what is local and what is Molokai” when coming up with their dishes. 

The Culinary Club students had been personally invited by celebrity chef Roy Yamaguchi to experience the Hawaii Food and Wine Festival’s Keiki in the Kitchen event, with the hope that the students will help work the event next year. Yamaguchi, owner of more than 30 restaurants and winner of the James Beard Award, had connected with the club through State Sen. Lynn DeCoite earlier this year during the club’s culinary explorations trip on Oahu. 

Yamaguchi was “inspired by our ability as an island to be locally sufficient,” explained club advisor Tiare Hubbard. 

“Molokai doesn’t have a culinary class or program, so the club is everything for culinary,” said Hubbard. 

Now in its second year, the Culinary Club has had notable success, especially at the Localicious Recipe Contest, which was won by Molokai’s Jonah Sahagun last year. 

Photo courtesy of Tiare Hubbard.

“I just wanted to keep the streak going, represent Molokai and show off our culture,” explained Kanemitsu in an interview with Hawaii News Now the day of the competition. 

“We get our food from the elements and the environment. That’s just different and that’s the upper hand that we have in this competition,” said Hubbard. 

Hubbard explained that the Culinary Club also creates new opportunities for Molokai students after high school. 

“There’s a place for kids not just in sports,” said Hubbard. “Now they have a college goal, they have a pathway to figure out that they didn’t have before… they’re finding their passion” 

Run almost entirely off donations and grants, the Culinary Club will host several upcoming fundraisers including a marinated chicken sale for Thanksgiving and cookie platter sale in December.