Hawaii CC students hit the sweet spot at Hilo Culinary Classic

Students Tiffany Chesser and Arnel Andres’ buffet desserts platter delighted the judges’ palates last month to win first place overall at the 17th annual Hilo Culinary Classic at Hawaii Community College.

The annual culinary competition was well-attended this year, and featured food to eat as well as dishes meant exclusively for viewing. Foodies, families of student chefs and members of the public enjoyed the technical heights achieved by Hawaii CC culinary arts students.

The judges were Sandy Dubczak, chef instructor at Hawaii CC; chef Casey Halpern of Café Pesto; and chef Aaron Anderson of Hilo Bay Café.

The winners:

College Student Division/Overall

First place: Chesser and Andres, buffet desserts platter.

Second place: Tasha Bohol, cake.

Third place: Hana Jung-Okuda, six individual desserts.

Professional Division

First place: The team of Jayme Yoshimura and Keoki Medeiros, seven-course meal.