HONOLULU, March 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Hawaiian
Airlines today announced the appointment of husband-and-wife team
Wade Ueoka and Michelle Karr-Ueoka, owners of Honolulu's MW Restaurant and Artizen, as its
executive chefs. Together, they will oversee menus from the
carrier's popular onboard Featured Chef Series, as well as curate
First Class meals for inbound flights from the U.S. mainland and
all cabin menus for flights between Hawaiʻi and Japan, Australia and New
Zealand and outbound flights to South Korea.
Ueoka previously prepared meals for Hawaiian's guests as a
featured chef in 2016 and 2018. The airline's first executive chef
duo replaces Chef Lee Anne Wong,
owner of Honolulu's Koko Head
Café, who joined the Featured Chef Series in 2015 and has served as
executive chef since 2018.
"Our Featured Chef Series has developed into a top-rated meal
program that celebrates the vibrant culinary scene and outstanding
agricultural bounty of our islands," said Renee Awana, managing director of product
development at Hawaiian Airlines. "Lee Anne
Wong has played an innovative role in developing this
program, and we are thankful for her time as both a featured chef
and our executive chef. We offer her our sincere gratitude as she
passes the torch to Chef Wade Ueoka
and Chef Michelle Karr-Ueoka."
About Our Executive Chefs
Ueoka was born and raised
on Oʻahu and graduated from the culinary program at Kapiʻolani
Community College. From his humble beginnings as a fry cook at
Zippy's Restaurants, he became chef de cuisine at the nationally
recognized Alan Wong's Restaurant.
Ueoka has worked at several acclaimed eateries, including The
French Laundry in Napa Valley,
California, and Alex in Las
Vegas. He has been recognized nationally as a Rising Star
Chef and has received numerous local awards for being one of
Hawai'i's leading chefs.
"After participating in the Featured Chef Series for nearly five
years, it was an honor to be offered the role of executive chef,"
Ueoka said. "Michelle and I are excited about the opportunity to
share our passion for food on a global scale and look forward to
welcoming Hawaiian's guests with new menus that represent our
home."
Karr-Ueoka, one of Hawaiʻi's premier pastry chefs, was born and
raised in Honolulu. While
attending the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, she discovered a love
for cooking after working at Alan Wong's Restaurant.
Karr-Ueoka attended the Culinary Institute of
America in Hyde Park, New
York, and later worked at various award-winning restaurants,
including Daniel and Per Se in
New York, and The French Laundry in Napa Valley. In over a decade as a pastry
chef, she has been recognized as a semi-finalist of the
James Beard Award and received the
Rising Star Chef Award as a pastry chef.
"I have flown Hawaiian Airlines since I was a child, so as a
chef, it's very exciting to think that I now have the opportunity
to design its in-flight meals," said Karr-Ueoka. "Wade and I can't
wait to get started as Hawaiian's first executive chef duo and
husband-and-wife team."
In 2013, Ueoka and Karr-Ueoka opened Oʻahu's MW Restaurant,
which the James Beard Foundation nominated for Best New Restaurant
in 2014. In 2015, the couple opened Artizen by MW in Honolulu.
New Cohort of Featured Chefs
Now in its sixth year,
the Featured Chef Series offers First Class (U.S. mainland) and
Business Class (international) guests onboard Hawaiian's flights
the opportunity to enjoy menus designed by a rotating roster of
Hawaiʻi's greatest established and emerging chefs. The carrier's
Featured Chef Series now includes Eric
Oto of Hoku's at The Kahala Hotel & Resort, Robynne Maii of Fête, Dell Valdez of Vein at Kakaʻako, Jason Yamaguchi of Mugen Waikiki, and
Chris Kajioka of Miro Kaimuki.
Celebrity Chef Chang-Wook Chung of Seoul's Kumsan Noodle Factory will continue to
delight guests on Hawaiian's inbound flights from South Korea with his esteemed fare.
The timeline for the Featured Chef Series is as follows:
December 2020 – May 2021: Robynne
Maii, Fête
First Class – Hawaiʻi to U.S.
mainland
Born and raised in Honolulu,
Chef Robynne Maii began her culinary
adventure at 3660 on the Rise and Padovani's Bistro and Wine Bar on
Oʻahu. In 1999, she moved to New York
City, where she worked at Union Pacific and the
Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in its pastry banquet kitchen. Robynne worked
for Gourmet magazine, City University of New
York (CUNY), and has been a cookbook judge for the James
Beard Foundation Awards since 2004. In 2015, Maii and her husband
opened Fête in Honolulu's bustling
Chinatown. In 2018, Maii partnered with Hawaiian to debut LunchBox
by Fête, a café-style restaurant at the airline's Honolulu headquarters.
June – November 2021:
Dell Valdez, Vein at
Kakaʻako
First Class – Hawaiʻi to U.S. mainland
Chef Dell Valdez is the executive
chef at Vein at Kakaʻako, specializing in modern Mediterranean
cuisine. Valdez, a Maui native,
was raised by immigrant parents who instilled in him a hard work
ethic and mantra of "treating everyone as you would want to be
treated." He first learned to cook at home alongside his mother,
who he calls his "greatest influence." In 2000, he graduated from
the culinary program at Kapiʻolani Community College.
December 2021 – May 2022: Jason
Yamaguchi, Mugen Waikiki
First Class – Hawaiʻi to
U.S. mainland
Chef Jason Yamaguchi was born in
Los Angeles and raised on Oʻahu.
Yamaguchi's passion for food was sparked in high school when he
worked under James Beard
Award-winning Chef Roy Yamaguchi of
Roy's Restaurants. Over two decades, Yamaguchi built his portfolio
as a tastemaker while working under the watchful eye of respected
chefs on the U.S. West Coast, including James Beard Award-winning, Michelin-starred Chef
Michael Mina and Hawaiʻi's own
Chris Garnier of Roy's Restaurants.
Now residing in Honolulu,
Yamaguchi is the executive chef of Mugen Waikiki, known for its
French-Japanese cuisine.
June – November 2022:
Chris Kajioka, Miro Kaimuki
First Class – Hawaiʻi to U.S. mainland
Chef Chris Kajioka was born and
raised in Honolulu and began his
culinary training at the Culinary Institute of
America in Hyde Park, New
York. He has worked at prominent restaurants across the
country, including Ron Siegel's
Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton and Mourad
Lahlou's Aziza in San Francisco,
California, and Thomas
Keller's iconic Per Se in
New York. In 2012, Kajioka
returned to Hawaiʻi to become the executive chef of Vintage Cave,
where he received his first James Beard Foundation nomination for
Rising Star Chef of the Year in 2014. In 2016, he partnered with
Chef Anthony Rush to open his first
restaurant, Senia, where he received several James Beard nominations. Kajioka is currently
chef and co-owner of Miro Kaimuki and Bar Māze in
Honolulu.
2016 – 2022: Chang-Wook Chung, Kumsan Restaurant
All Cabins – Seoul to
Hawai'i
Chef Chung, a featured chef since 2016, will continue his tenure
on flights from South Korea. An
expert in French and Japanese cuisine, he is the owner and chef of
Kumsan Noodle Factory in Seoul. His culinary excellence has been widely
recognized, and he has appeared in several Korean television
programs. Feeling a strong personal attachment to Hawai'i, Chung
has returned to the islands every year since his first visit over a
decade ago.
Chef Eric Oto of Hoku's at The
Kahala Hotel & Resort recently completed his second menu cycle
(June – November 2020) for inbound
flights from U.S. mainland since joining the Featured Chef Series
in 2018. His passion for the culinary arts began at the age of four
when he caught his first fish with a bamboo cane pole. At a young
age, Oto learned the philosophies of respecting and appreciating
Hawai'i's food ecosystem from his father, a lifelong farmer and
fisherman. Today, Oto's reverence for the ocean can be seen — and
tasted — in his cooking. Committed to supporting Hawai'i's next
generation of chefs, Oto serves as a chef-mentor for local high
school students with the Hawai'i Culinary Education Foundation and
the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs Jeune Chef Competition.
Other former participating chefs have included Mark Noguchi of Pili Group, Jon Matsubara of FEAST, Andrew Le of The Pig & The Lady, and
Sheldon Simeon of Tin Roof Maui.
Chai Chaowasaree of Chef Chai
Restaurant was Hawaiian's first executive chef from 2010 to
2018.
More information about the program and Hawaiian's latest
in-flight menus are available at
www.hawaiianairlines.com/our-services/in-flight-services/dining-and-drinks/featured-chef-series.
About Hawaiian Airlines
Hawaiian® has led all U.S. carriers in on-time
performance for each of the past 17 years (2004-2020) as reported
by the U.S. Department of Transportation. Consumer surveys by
Condé Nast Traveler, Travel + Leisure and
TripAdvisor have placed Hawaiian among the top of all
domestic airlines serving Hawai'i.
Now in its 92nd year of continuous service, Hawaiian is
Hawai'i's biggest and longest-serving airline. Hawaiian offers
nonstop flights within the Hawaiian Islands, between Hawai'i and
more U.S. gateway cities (16) than any other airline, as well as
service connecting the islands with Japan and South
Korea. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Hawaiian has
temporarily suspended service in Australia, New
Zealand, American Samoa and
Tahiti.
The airline is committed to the health and safety of its guests
and employees and has reinforced enhanced cleaning procedures
across its business. While the experience may be a little
different, the authentic Hawaiian hospitality remains unchanged.
Additional details on how Hawaiian is keeping guests and employees
safe can be found at HawaiianAirlines.com/KeepingYouSafe.
Hawaiian Airlines, Inc. is a subsidiary of Hawaiian Holdings,
Inc. (NASDAQ: HA). Additional information is available at
HawaiianAirlines.com. Follow Hawaiian's Twitter updates
(@HawaiianAir), become a fan on Facebook (Hawaiian Airlines),
and follow us on Instagram (hawaiianairlines). For career postings
and updates, follow Hawaiian's LinkedIn page.
For media inquiries, please visit Hawaiian Airlines' online
newsroom.
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SOURCE Hawaiian Airlines