Kea Lani Secures $15K Grant for Maui Culinary Students

Fairmont Kea Lani in Wailea, Maui. Photo courtesy of Fairmont Hotels & Resorts.

By Maui Now Staff

A three-year $15,000 grant has been awarded to the Fairmont Kea Lani on Maui in support of its ongoing partnership with the Maui Culinary Academy at the University of Hawaiʻi Maui College.

Hotel executives say the award will allow them to present a $5,000 scholarship annually to a Maui Culinary Academy student as part of the hotel’s Tylun Pang Aspiring Chef Scholarship.

“The Tylun Pang Aspiring Chef Scholarship offers one leading MCA student eight weeks of work experience which, combined with chef mentorship, provides a realistic understanding of the rigors associated with the culinary profession,” said Chris Speere, External Program Coordinator at the Maui Culinary Academy in a joint press release.

Chef Tylun Pang. Courtesy file photo.

In addition to the mentorship the culinary student will receive, hotel executives say the scholarship recipient will also have the opportunity to create a dish that will be temporarily included on the hotel’s Kō restaurant menu.

The experience is designed to give the student a rewarding experience and a competitive edge after graduation.

The scholarship program was developed to honor MCA Advisory Council member and Executive Chef, Tylun Pang.

Previous recipients have included MCA students Peamsook Park and Kendra Carter who is now employed in the pastry shop of the resort.

Students interested in the scholarship program are invited to attend an informational presentation at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 9, at the Maui Culinary Academy’s Leis Family Class Act Restaurant. The deadline to apply is Friday, Oct. 3, 2014.

The selected recipient will be announced at the Maui Culinary Academy’s annual fundraising event, Noble Chef, on Saturday, Nov. 1, at The Fairmont Kea Lani, Maui.

The funds were gifted by the Fairmont Community Assistance and Responsibility to the Environment, a corporate grant program that focuses on the environmental, social and well-being of the communities where Fairmont does business.