12th Annual Hilo Culinary Classic - HCC School of Culinary Arts

The 12th Annual Hilo Culinary Classic Competition took place on Friday, April 9th at the Hawai'i Community College Hilo Campus.  This year there were more entries than ever before and the place was packed.

For the first time there were entries from The Kapiolani (Oahu) campus and also from the Waiakea Intermediate Students in Hilo. 

The judges, Corporate Chef Ernesto Lincaco of Y Hata & Co. LTD, Executive Chef Casey Halpern of Cafe Pesto and Lead judge Chef Jim O'Keefe weren't quite finished judging when the doors opened to the public and it was interesting to hear judges commentary as they were facing some of the entries. 

The following entries won both the College Division and Overall:

Best of Show and 1st Place - Kelly Yoshida - HCC Hilo - Patisserie Artistic Show Piece - Decorated Celebration Cake - "Aquatic Artistry"

 
2nd place and a Gold Medal - Levon Stevens - HCC Hilo - Buffet Artistic Showpiece - Carved Fruit Flowers - "The Flower Garden" - I could not find Levon for a photo, so here is a collage of some of his exquisitely carved work.  Notice the delicate thinness of the petals.

3rd Place and a Gold Medal - Brandon Domingo - HCC-West HI - 5 Course Meal for One

In the Intermediate/High School Division all the winning teams were from the Waiakea Intermediate School, guided by Pastry Chef John Steward.  I apologize in advance for the order of the photos, since it was so crowded and noisy, it was hard to tell which was which except for the size of the trophies.  I hope I didn't make a mistake in the order of placement!

1^st Place TIE between Teams #2 "Vegas Sweets" and #4 "Alice in Wonderland"

2^nd Place Team #1

3^rd Place Team #3

 

 

Team #1 – Ethan Whitten, Kami-lyn Medeiros, Karlie Austria and Nikki Erece

Team #2 - Bryana  Ebbers. Jasmine Caban, Kryslynn Koyabashi-Agena and Natasia Rose-Fontes

Team #3 – Ariel Cuba, Megan Bolden and Wren Pacheco

Team #4 – Dalyne Shirota, Keith Sumaoang, Maiyah Turner and Noah Wirght

 

 

Professor and Chef Alan Okuda, and  Instructors Chef Sandy Barr Rivera, Shawn Sumiki, Sandy Dubczak, Brian Hirata, Paul Heerlein and Hospitality Division Chair Jim Lightner of the HCC-Hilo Campus were the proud hosts of this wonderful event.  (Photo taken at an earlier event)

Congratulations to all the students from the different campuses who participated, the winners and their Chef Instructors and the judges for a magnificent job well done!

A sampling of some of the other entries! 

Hawaii CC Hilo Student Sheri Lozier received a gold Medal for her intricately decorated, Easter Egg Pastry Showpiece in the upper row of photos.