Bring Your Passion for Cooking: Culinary Arts Schools in Hawaii

Imagine cooking as a professional chef in the Hawaiian Islands, talk about tropical, sun-drenched, and a top tourist destination.

Hawaiian Culinary Scene

Since Hawaii is a leading tourist destination it stands to reason that the restaurant scene is commercial and production oriented. But it is also innovative and offers a unique perspective of a truly unique native culinary tradition.

Popular Hawaiian dishes widely available in restaurants include: poi, loco moco, poke, and “shrimp truck.” You’ll discover—as a student chef in training in Hawaii—a distinct emphasis on fresh seafood and Asian influences galore.

Most of the cooking schools are located in Honolulu, but make sure part of your educational experience includes forays into the local and regional fare. Soak up the native flavors of Hawaii, the ingredients, and the most talked about chefs, like Sam Choy and Chef Philippe Padovani.

Food festivals are a prime way to dig right into a local or regional food scene. Most exhibit many of the best local restaurants, offer cooking classes, entertainment, and even allow you to rub elbows with celebrity guest chefs and participate in chef competitions.

Here are a few of the popular food festivals in Hawaii:

• Kapalua Wine and Food Festival
• Hawaii Lodging, Hospitality and Food Service Expo
• Annual Kona Chocolate Festival

Associations for Food Service Professionals

You might consider expanding your educational horizons with a student membership to one of the professional associations.

• Maui Chef’s Association
• Hawaii Restaurant Association

Organizations like these usually offer discounted memberships to students, scholarships and discounted admission to national and regional conferences.

Compete for a Chef’s Job in Hawaii

Thanks to the unstoppable tourist business in Hawaii there continues to be a significant demand for hospitality and food service professionals. Look for a school that can connect you with valuable internships and maintains strong industry affiliations. Any experience you can get in a student-run restaurant is useful.

Average chef’s salary in Hawaii is $50,000, but pay is based on a wide variety of factors, including: years of experience, your education, reputation, type of establishment and city or town.

Hawaii’s Top Cooking and Culinary Schools

Maui Culinary Academy – Kahului is one of the only specialty culinary arts academies in the Islands. This very good school is affiliated with the Maui Community College, but offers ultra-specialized training that includes new high-end training kitchens and a fine student-run restaurant. Programs include Associates Culinary Arts, Associates Baking, Associates Restaurant Supervision, Certificate Culinary Arts, and Certificate Baking.

Travel Institute of the Pacific – Gros Bonnet Culinary Arts Academy – Honolulu is one of the oldest culinary arts programs and was originally developed to train students for immediate positions in the travel and hospitality business in Hawaii, including culinary arts. Programs include Culinary Arts, Patisserie and Hotel Management. Core curriculum covers French cuisine and production cooking for a commercial kitchen.

Hawaii State Colleges, Community and Technical Colleges Offering Culinary, Restaurant Management, and/or Hospitality Degrees

Brigham Young University-Hawaii Campus – Laie
Hawaii Pacific University – Honolulu
Heald College School of Business and Technology – Honolulu
Honolulu Community College – Honolulu
Kapiolani Community College – Honolulu
Kauai Community College – Lihue
Leeward Community College - Pearl City
University of Hawaii at Manoa - Honolulu