KAPALUA – The University of Hawaii Maui College Culinary Arts Program was recently awarded a $10,000 donation by Kapalua Maui Charities on behalf of the 37th annual Kapalua Wine & Food Festival held earlier this summer.

Over 3,500 oenophiles, gourmands and enthusiasts of the good life came together on the shores of the Kapalua Resort to celebrate, learn and commune about viniculture and culinary trends from June 9-12 this year, and a portion of the proceeds from the event raised will be used by UHMC Culinary Arts Program for Maui’s rising culinary stars.

This represents a record donation on behalf of the event to the culinary program, which has been its beneficiary for many years.

“Our students have been a part of the Kapalua Wine & Food Festival for many years,” said UHMC Culinary Arts Program Chef Instructor Craig Omori, “and each year the event provides an invaluable, hands-on learning experience for our students. They work with some of our island’s most talented chefs using the finest local ingredients. It’s a chance for them to put into practice everything they’re learning in our program. They get to see what the ‘real world’ culinary industry is like. We are most appreciative of both the warm welcome our students receive from everyone connected to this iconic event and certainly of the substantial monetary donation made to our program through Kapalua Maui Charities.”

President of Kapalua Maui Charities, Richard Holtzman, commented, “We are pleased to provide financial assistance to support the University of Hawaii Maui College Culinary Arts Program and their efforts in developing future chefs for our Maui restaurants. The Kapalua Wine & Food Festival provides a rare opportunity for the culinary students to meet and connect with some of the top chefs from the Mainland and Hawaii. We are thrilled that this year we were able to double our donation to this very worthy Maui cause.”

This year’s event had record ticket sales and attendance throughout the weekend.

The 2018 festival is scheduled for June 7-10, and tickets are projected to be on sale after Jan. 15, with kama’aina tickets offered for a limited time. Purchase tickets at www.kapaluawineandfoodfestival.com.