Queen’s Gala Celebrates Student Chefs

Photo by Jack Kiyonaga

By Jack Kiyonaga, Editor

For the third year, the Queen’s Gala brought the Molokai community together to celebrate the work of young, aspiring chefs. The evening featured a five-course meal with specialty dishes and drinks designed and executed by members of the Culinary Club. From kalo chowder to maki sushi rolls, to meringue pavlova, the student chefs did not disappoint.

The requirements for this year’s menu were that the dishes contain at least one locally sourced ingredient along with the added challenge of being gluten-free, explained Tiare Hubbard, program director of the Culinary Club.

The young chefs spend months preparing for the end of the year gala. They train their culinary skills in club meetings and travel off-island to check out top kitchens and restaurants before even creating a sample dish. After their speculative dish has been submitted, the whole club will help with a taste testing before finally practicing replicating the dish in bulk.

Before the gala, the student chefs “are really nervous,” explained Hubbard. But all the hard work had paid off.

“They felt like this was their best gala ever,” said Hubbard.

In addition to the meals, the gala focuses on the future possibilities in the culinary world for young Molokai students. Each of the graduating seniors in the club got to pick between work positions at the Fairmount Kea Lani or the Four Seasons Maui, or choose a scholarship at UH Maui College’s Culinary Arts Program. The club has already placed alumni at various jobs and mentorship programs statewide.

For the club, 2025 was also a year of transition. Following a trip to Maui earlier this year to visit hotels and restaurants and compete in a Chopped-style competition – which the Culinary Club won – Molokai High School (MHS) announced that the club would no longer be offered at the high school.

In a March letter to parents, MHS Principal Katina Soares explained that the decision was because MHS does not offer a specific culinary pathway at the school. Additionally, the school already had instituted a culinary class.

Following the announcement, “the kids went through a lot of changes,” said Hubbard. After the school cut the club, the club was transitioned to the Kalamaula Homesteaders Association. Next year, the club will be offered to young chefs ages 14 to 19, regardless of if they attend MHS or not. The club will meet at the facilities at Coconut Grove in the future.

Hubbard will also be transitioning to a different position. She will still be the program director, but from afar, as she is moving off-island to be closer to her family.

Regardless of where the club is located or who leads it, Hubbard explained that the most important aspect is supporting the young people who are involved.

“They find a sense of belonging with each other,” she said. “Without a team, you’re a solo act.”