Expanding Job Training in Hawaii's Culinary Arts Industry

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Food is one of the most important parts of both tourism and a communities ambiance giving both a glimps into the culture of a region and the opportunity to experience that culture while relaxing at the end of a long day of exploring. Travel and tourism are one of the United States largest exports earning roughly $144 billion dollars in 2011. This makes the culinary arts an important though less commonly discussed investment for business development. In order to help expand the culinary arts the Economic Development Administration is providing a 2.4 million dollar grant to the Culinary Institute of the Pacific of Honolulu, to help expand the institute's training facilities located on the Diamond Head campus of the Kapiolani Community College.

The goal of this investment is to train workers and entrepreneurs in the skills they need to attract more customers and to provide a better experience for tourists so that they continue to come to Hawaii. The hope is that the investment will create 500 new jobs and generate $7 million in private investment, according to grantee estimates. Culinary jobs are also of increasing importance as a driver of an improved quality of life for those working in this industry.

"The Culinary Institute of the Pacific will be a state-of-the-art facility that expands on the expertise of Hawaii's world class chefs, farmers and restaurateurs by advancing a curriculum that combines the culinary arts with restaurant management and entrepreneurship," said Senator Daniel K. Inouye. "Students will work with locally grown produce and be able to fully explore and innovate the cross cultural cooking style of our islands."

Hawaii is one of the best places to develop fusion restaurants thanks to a unique history of diversity with everything from Spanish cowboys and Portuguese farmers to Japanese and Filipino immigrants as well as the local populations Hawaii already has an eclectic mix of culinary traditions. This diversity will not only benefit Hawaii but the United States as a whole as more and more culinary artists gain the knowledge of many unique culinary experiences.

"This added investment in Hawaii's visitor industry comes at an excellent time," said Congresswoman Mazie K. Hirono, a member of the House Education and the Workforce Committee. "The state's most recent tourism numbers are strong. A number of airlines including United and our own Hawaiian Airlines have just launched non-stop service from the East Coast. And soon, Kapiolani Community College's world class Culinary Institute of the Pacific will be able to expand its job training facilities and programs. Earlier this year, I visited with the talented students of the Culinary Institute, who had their skills on full display. Their delicious and diverse dishes foreshadow successful food industry careers like those of graduates Alan Wong and Sam Choy, two of Hawaii's finest ambassador chefs."