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Leeward CC culinary faculty, alumni unite for showcase to support future chefs

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Leeward CC culinary arts student helps faculty chef prepare dish.

Culinary Arts Showcase to be held at Leeward CC's award-winning restaurant, The Pearl.

Chef Instructor Eric Oto prepares dish at 2025 showcase.

Guests enjoy grazing-style dining experience at 2025 showcase.

Video of Leeward CC Culinary Program (courtesy Leeward Community College):

Saturday, October 24, marks the second annual Leeward Community College Culinary Arts Showcase. Built around the theme “Yesterday’s Lessons, Today’s Creations,” the college’s award-winning restaurant, The Pearl, will transform into a grazing-style dining experience with signature dishes from faculty chefs and distinguished alumni. Each dish will reflect a pivotal lesson or core memory from each chef’s culinary journey, reimagined with refined techniques and local ingredients.

More than just a showcase of the college’s culinary talent, the evening is an opportunity for prospective students to explore the campus’ culinary facilities and speak directly with instructors, current students, and alumni. Current students will also work side-by-side with alumni chefs across interactive food and drink stations.

The full menu highlights the diverse backgrounds of participating chefs. For example, alumna Chef Jasmyne Wood (’21) will prepare a Maui venison tartare featuring invasive axis deer, while Chef Randy Bangloy (’08) will present a short rib kare-kare, a signature dish from his time at Roy Yamaguchi’s Eating House 1849 that elevates traditional Filipino flavors. 

Tickets are $125, with all event proceeds funding student scholarships, equipment, and instructional supplies. Reserve your spot and see more participating chefs at . 

“Teaching techniques in a classroom is one thing, but showing students how community, local ingredients, and mentorship come together on a plate is everything,” said Matt Egami, culinary arts program coordinator. “When alumni return to cook alongside us, our students—and those considering joining us—see exactly where their own dedication can take them.”

Egami will serve an apple, chèvre and fennel tart, born from a crucial culinary school lesson when an instructor called him out for using canned apples, teaching him never to sacrifice quality for shortcuts. Meanwhile, culinary arts instructor Eric Oto will make ahi tataki.

“It’s a rendition of a dish I created at Hoku’s, which was actually a modern take on my grandma’s daikon sanbaizuke recipe using green papaya and Okinawan black vinegar,” explained Oto. “It’s a very refreshing dish, but more importantly, it shows our students how you can take deeply personal, traditional family recipes and elevate them through refined technique.”