The culinary students at Hawaii Community College were fortunate to have Chef Mark Noguchi as their guest speaker thanks to The Hawaii Culinary Education Foundation and Hayley Matson Mathers, their executive director. Noguchi has a special place in his heart
The culinary students at Hawaii Community College were fortunate to have Chef Mark Noguchi as their guest speaker thanks to The Hawaii Culinary Education Foundation and Hayley Matson Mathers, their executive director. Noguchi has a special place in his heart for Hilo, as in his 20s he was dancing hula with Halau o Kekuhi. That experience has influenced his understanding and passion for the culture and food of the islands.
Noguchi is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of the Pacific and the Culinary Institute of America, and with those credentials you might expect him to be just a little uppity.
Wrong!
Noguchi is one of the humblest chefs I have ever met, and I have met a few. He has never forgotten his roots and his love for his land and the products that come from it.
He is a leader in Hawaii’s sustainable food movement, along with Ed Kenney from TOWN, where Noguchi worked. Chef Noguchi also worked with Chef Mavro and was the former co-owner and chef at He‘eia Kea Pier General Store &Deli.
His friends and peers call him “Gooch” and along with his wife, Amanda Corby, opened Pili Group. “Pili” means “interconnected,” which is their philosophy about sourcing products within an ahupua‘a, or traditional Hawaiian land division. Pili Group not only features locally sourced food for its catering services, but also works to provide training opportunities for youth interested in the culinary profession.
This led to a call from Hawaiian Airlines to partner with it to provide its staff with healthy, locally sourced meals at the corporate office in Honolulu, called Lunchbox. The airline offers healthy plate lunches as well as grab-and-go take outs with items such as kale wraps. When a farmer has excess produce, Lunchbox offers a mini-farmers market of fresh produce with a couple of recipes so the employees at Hawaiian Airlines can take the fresh produce home and prepare a healthy meal for their family.
This concept went further as 50 employees were selected by their health carrier, Kaiser Permanente, to participate in a wellness program, along with Lunchbox helping with meal planning. Each week, Kaiser checks these participants on their progress toward wellness.
Noguchi’s second restaurant, called Mission, is a café space at the Hawaiian Mission Houses. Only a few hundred visit the Hawaiian Mission Houses daily and it is the Noguchis’ hope that those who visit are interested in the history of Hawaii, including their interest in the foods of Hawaii.
Amanda Noguchi, with 9-month-old Eleanor on her back, pounded taro to make pai‘ai. Everyone watched Eleanor for her reaction to her mother pounding, but she acted as if it is something done daily and was keeping time with the pounding as she nodded her head.
Gooch offered some great advice to the culinary students:
• The average foodie today is more knowledgeable than most chefs, so don’t fight it, KISS — keep it simple, stupid. Simplify, celebrate our local ingredients and accept farm-to-table as a way of life.
• Get away from home, travel and then come back and hone your techniques.
• Read, read, read and keep abreast as to what’s happening in the food industry.
• Be responsible in social media. Employers will check your Facebook, Twitter, etc. before they hire you, so don’t put anything that might jeopardize you getting a job. Sixty percent of what you post should be about your community, 30 percent should be about food and only 10 percent personal.
• Always conduct yourself as a business person. Be a responsible person in the community.
• When you go into an interview, look professional, walk with confidence and a sense of urgency. Have ethics and integrity, those are things no one can train you at. Chefs only can train you on cooking techniques.
• Family is your company. The Noguchis do not take any jobs on Sunday as it is the day of rest, and every Sunday night their home is open to their employees to eat and drink together.
Mark Noguchi’s advice was spoken from the heart and hopefully the students got it. They could become very successful in their careers if they listen to what he had to say.
Actually, every person going out to find a job can learn from Noguchi’s life lessons.
Foodie bites
The Hawaii Community College Culinary Program’s cafeteria is open from 10:45 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday this week. Call 934-2559 for specials of the day or to order or take out. Check if the Hawaiian plate is available. It is very popular.
The second annual Lilikoi Festival is slated for 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday at Nani Mau Gardens in Hilo.
There will be door prizes, a cooking contest, cooking demonstration, gardening workshop, plant sale, local music and entertainment, Hiccup Circus and a silent auction. The festival is a fundraiser for the Rainbow Friends Animal Sanctuary and the Center for Spiritual Living.
Saturday is a busy day as the YWCA.
The “Walk in Her Shoes” event is in the morning, and at 1 p.m. Kadota Liquors will celebrate its 50th anniversary with tastings and food from K’s Drive In.
Email me at audreywilson808@gmail.com if you have questions.
