{"id":26931,"date":"2024-11-19T06:00:06","date_gmt":"2024-11-19T16:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kapionews.com\/?p=26931"},"modified":"2024-11-20T20:32:59","modified_gmt":"2024-11-21T06:32:59","slug":"chef-roy-yamaguchi-leads-cip-into-its-next-phase","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kapionews.com\/index.php\/2024\/11\/19\/chef-roy-yamaguchi-leads-cip-into-its-next-phase\/","title":{"rendered":"Chef Roy Yamaguchi Leads CIP into its Next Phase"},"content":{"rendered":"

Culinary Institute of the Pacific’s workforce development program, a collaboration with the Culinary Institute of America, is designed to elevate the growth of professional cooks in any industry. <\/span>(Photo by Sarah Burchard)<\/p>\n

By Sarah Burchard | Staff Writer<\/h5>\n

Roy Yamaguchi is a James Beard Award-winning chef and co-founder of Hawai\u02bbi Regional Cuisine who has opened over 30 of his namesake Roy\u2019s Restaurants worldwide. In January 2024, he became the executive director of the Culinary Institute of the Pacific at Kapi\u02bbolani Community College, arriving just in time to kick off the school’s next phase of development.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAs the executive director, what I\u2019m trying to do is create a vision for the future of the Culinary Institute of the Pacific campus,\u201d Yamaguchi said in an interview at CIP in September. \u201cWe want to create a world-class culinary campus for excellence.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

CIP is located at 4500 Diamond Head Road in the former Cannon Club (also known as the Fort Ruger officer’s club). It consists <\/span>of two kitchen labs built in 2017 (phase 1) and <\/span>a new innovation center, restaurant and auditorium still under construction (phase 2). (View renderings of CIP’s Phase 2 here<\/a>.) Yamaguchi <\/span>is here to lead the project into this new phase. According to KCC Town Hall meeting reports<\/a>, the $20 million project was funded by private funders matched by the state of Hawai\u02bbi.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Yamaguchi decided<\/span> to become a chef when he was 18 years old while attending The Culinary Institute of America<\/a>\u00a0in Hyde Park, New York in the 1970s. He <\/span>opened his first Roy\u2019s Restaurant in Hawai\u02bbi Kai in 1988 and <\/span>his first franchise operation overseas in 1996. Today, he oversees 10 restaurants in Hawai\u02bbi, one in Pebble Beach, California and one in Guam, after selling 22 Roy\u2019s Restaurant franchises in 2014. In 2011, he and his wife, Denise Yamaguchi, formed <\/span>a 501C3 nonprofit organization called Hawai\u02bbi Ag & Culinary Alliance<\/span> and together with Alan Wong they launched the first <\/span>Hawai\u02bbi <\/span>Food & Wine Festival<\/span><\/a>. The festival, now 14 years running, has given 2,600 Hawai\u02bbi culinary student volunteers the opportunity to work alongside some of the country\u2019s most renowned chefs. CEO of Hawai\u02bbi Food and Wine Festival Denise Yamaguchi said that in 2010, when they were envisioning the festival, it was to help CIP raise money for the project it is finally completing now.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In his new role at KCC, Yamaguchi oversees the credit and non-credit programs CIP offers. The for-credit program includes the two-year Associate in Science<\/span>\u00a0degree in Culinary Arts program, which\u00a0<\/strong>enrolls 238 Kapi\u02bbolani Community College students. <\/span>KCC Culinary Arts department chair\u00a0Grant Itomitsu<\/span> said the core of the for-credit culinary program will remain the same, but by introducing new non-credit programs for the public in new state-of-the-art facilities,\u00a0he hopes it will encourage people worldwide to think of KCC as a unique, high-level school.<\/span><\/p>\n

Workforce Development Program<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the partnerships Yamaguchi helped facilitate was with <\/span>CIA to create a workforce development program for the public. Aside from being a CIA alum, Yamaguchi has also served on the board of trustees at CIA, <\/strong>which he called the “world’s most premier culinary college,” for 12 years.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to create world-class partnerships,\u201d Yamaguchi said. \u201cWorld-class collaborations with businesses, institutions \u2026 whether it be educational or whether it be corporate. We need to have these world-class collaborations to move forward to do great things with.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Denise Yamaguchi offered to take some of the KCC administration to CIA in California and New York to show them what a high-level culinary school looked like. In 2022, the University of Hawai\u02bbi chose a<\/span>ssociate vice president for administrative affairs Michael T. Unebasami, <\/span>Hawai\u02bbi senator Donovan M. Dela Cruz and <\/span>Hawai\u02bbi Senate higher education committee chair Donna Kim to accompany her, since they all represented the major stakeholders. Roy <\/span>Yamaguchi joined them the following year to visit CIA\u2019s San Antonio campus<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The workforce development program, a collaboration with CIA, is not only for hospitality professionals but any sector with food production, including health care, nonprofits and the U.S. military. <\/span>Roy Yamaguchi said the goal is to not only raise the bar for local food establishments, which would benefit the economy, but also to raise the level and quality of food production overall in Hawai\u02bbi by having them train with the CIA instructors.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

“Roy is a conduit for marketing the program,” Itomitsu said.<\/span><\/p>\n

The workforce development program, which is comprised of weeklong intensive workshops, began at 4500 Diamond Head Rd. on Sept. 16. Each week a new cohort of 16 local students arrives Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. (although most come early and stay later to engage with other students)\u00a0<\/strong>to learn cooking techniques and professional skills\u00a0<\/strong>from a visiting CIA instructor. Afterward, students earn a certificate of completion, which they can use to boost their resumes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A Day in the Workforce Development Program<\/b>\u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With his coiffed salt-and-pepper hair, pressed slacks and starched white CIP chef\u2019s coat, Yamaguchi arrived at LAB 200 around noon in late September to observe and engage with the current cohort, a<\/span> group of 16 culinary professionals from different backgrounds, including cooks from Duke\u2019s, Zippy\u2019s and Monkeypod Kitchen, Coast Guard and members of the Army, to name a few. The theme for the week was Pacific rim plant forward cooking.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bricyn “Kale” Afong, a knife-maker, fisherman and private chef from Honolulu, prepared three styles of poke with \u2018ahi he had caught three days prior and a p\u016bp\u016b of Kona kampachi\u00a0<\/strong>bones, necks and tails coated lightly with cornstarch and fried golden brown, served with Sumida Farms watercress and ponzu. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFishermen,\u201d he said. \u201cWe don\u2019t like to waste.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"ahi

One of three ‘ahi poke prepared by Kale Afong. (Photo by Sarah Burchard)<\/p><\/div>\n

When Afong was 15, he said he had very little money and would fish and dive in order to eat. He eventually landed a job selling insurance\u00a0but lost it four years later when COVID hit. That’s when Afong began making sushi cakes. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what put me on the [cooking] journey<\/span>,” Afong said. “I dipped into my past trauma when I was broke and fishing for my dinner and turned it into a business.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Joe <\/span>McGinn, owner of Hawai\u02bbi Natural Farming, <\/span>brought \u2018ulu and kalo from his farm to share. Preparing \u02bbulu pa\u02bbi\u02bbai with a poi pounder, he shared his career goals.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOriginally, I wanted to do farming,\u201d McGinn said. \u201cSo I grew all this cool stuff and then I couldn\u2019t find anyone to do anything with it. So, part of it was me not knowing what to do with it. So now,\u00a0by learning what it is and how to work with it, it’s completing the full circle.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

McGinn said he has learned not only from the instructor but also fellow classmates, the basics of working in a professional kitchen, like hanging a towel off his apron and how to set-up his station and keep it organized.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One of Yamaguchi’s goals for the program was to help students build networks. Victoria <\/span>Zhang<\/span>, assistant coordinator for the program, said she not only sees students walking away from the program with more knowledge\u00a0but also new contacts. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI noticed a lot of them have networked and expanded their circles more,\u201d she said. \u201cLike, \u2018Oh! I\u2019ve been looking for a local farm for a kalo source and you know a guy.\u2019 So there\u2019s just a lot of collaboration between everyone.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Culinary

Joe McGinn (center) serves his homegrown \u02bbulu pa\u02bbi\u02bbai alongside \u02bbahi poke, caught and prepared by classmate Kale Afong.<\/span> Chef Roy Yamaguchi (left of McGinn) observes the food prepared by students in the CIP workforce development program. (Photo by Sarah Burchard)<\/p><\/div>\n

Food For Thought Creative Center<\/strong><\/p>\n

Where the workforce development program works to elevate professional cooks and chefs, the Food For Thought Creative Center \u2013 the new innovation center coming next year \u2013 will focus on science, product development and beverage programs. Dr. Lauren Tamamoto \u2013 who has a background in nutrition, culinary arts, product development and a doctorate in food science \u2013 will create a curriculum for non-credit students intended to be useful in many areas of the hospitality industry. The first course she developed was on local coffee. Itomitsu said students will visit a coffee farm to learn how to grow, harvest and ferment coffee cherries, then visit a roaster, learn cupping and brewing techniques, and explore what kinds of food products can be made with coffee. The center will also be a testing ground for potential food products to bring to market and serve in the new\u00a0<\/strong>restaurant once it opens.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Restaurant<\/strong><\/p>\n

The restaurant (still unnamed), slated to open in 2025, will be open 365 days a year and employ both CIP students and an outside professional workforce as well. Yamaguchi said the \u201cPacific-influenced\u201d menu will serve local products, have an eye toward sustainability and incorporate Hawaiian culture. He said they are still working on the menu and will be hiring a chef to lead the team soon.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Auditorium<\/strong><\/p>\n

Finally, the new auditorium will be a 11,350-square-foot space\u00a0available to CIP chef instructors, other KCC department instructors and the public for presentations and seminars. Yamaguchi said there will be a state-of-the-art network broadcasting system, so presentations can be sent anywhere in the world. Yamaguchi hopes all buildings in phase two will be ready to open next year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Along with the new changes comes potential for growth for not only CIP\u00a0but other KCC departments too. Yamaguchi said disciplines such as business, accounting, science and health all tie into a well-rounded culinary education and opens up additional pathways for culinary students beyond cooking.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy whole mindset has always been making sure that we can run it as a business,\u201d Yamaguchi said. \u201cBecause I know that if we run it as a business, we can go somewhere. That\u2019s my vision: teaching students the truth about business and life. That\u2019s where I come from.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CIP is located at 4500 Diamond Head Road in the former Cannon Club (also known as the Fort Ruger officer’s club). It consists of two kitchen labs built in 2017 (phase 1) and a new innovation center, restaurant and auditorium still under construction (phase 2). Yamaguchi is here to lead the project into this new phase.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":26933,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,3],"tags":[71,68,69,70],"class_list":["post-26931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campusfeatures","category-features","tag-culinary-institute-of-america","tag-culinary-institute-of-the-pacific","tag-roy-yamaguchi","tag-roys-restaurant","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kapionews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26931","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kapionews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kapionews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kapionews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/62"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kapionews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26931"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kapionews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26931\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kapionews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26933"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kapionews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kapionews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kapionews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}