From left, Alex Ahluwalia of The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua, Mike Jones of Troon/Kapalua Golf, Ryan Churchill of Maui Land & Pineapple Co. Ltd. and Kapalua Maui Charities, Chris Speere of Maui Culinary Academy, David Hoffman of Montage Kapalua Bay and Aida Lyne Taylan, a student at Maui Culinary Academy, are pictured at the check presentation.

KAPALUA – The Maui Culinary Academy at the University of Hawaii Maui College was recently awarded a $5,000 donation by Kapalua Maui Charities on behalf of the 34th annual Kapalua Wine & Food Festival held during the summer.

More than 3,500 oenophiles, gourmands and enthusiasts of the good life came together on the shores of Kapalua Resort to celebrate, learn and commune about viniculture and culinary trends from June 13-15. A portion of the proceeds from the event will be used by Maui Culinary Academy for the education of the island’s rising culinary stars.

Chris Speere, external coordinator of the Maui Culinary Academy program, said, “The recent 34th annual Kapalua Wine & Food Festival activities that featured the culinary talents of uber skilled and creative chefs from Maui’s top restaurants and resorts was a tremendously beneficial and exciting educational endeavor for our academy’s students.

“Our academy is deeply touched by the warm welcome our culinary students received at the Kapalua Wine & Food Festival event each year, and how the direct guidance and new learning from our local chefs supports their growth. It is so important for our students to witness Maui chefs celebrating, sharing and sustaining Hawaii’s unique food traditions by utilizing wonderfully grown food products through numerous special recipes that showcase the diversity of our islands’ harvest,” he continued.

“Our academy is honored to be a part of the Kapalua Wine & Food Festival weekend, as it serves as a priceless educational experience for our MCA students with added and special pride for our entire Maui community. The generous funds from Kapalua Maui Charities will be used to enhance and enrich the educational environment at our academy in addition to providing much-needed scholarship support for deserving students.”

Kapalua Maui Charities President Ryan Churchill commented, “We are pleased to provide financial assistance to support the Maui Culinary Academy 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.”

This year’s event saw record ticket sales and attendance, with more than 3,000 bottles of wines and spirits sampled throughout the weekend.

The 2015 festival is scheduled for June 11-14. Tickets are projected to be on sale after Jan. 15, 2015, with kama’aina tickets offered for a limited time. Visit www.kapaluawineandfoodfestival.com.