Paniolo Grill and World Plate are open from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Most full lunches are priced below $15. Also served are hot and cold grab and go items, a Special of the Day, salad bar, and assorted pastries prepared by baking students. Cash and credit cards are accepted. PHOTO COURTESY OF UH MAUI COLLEGE.

KAHULUI — Beginning on Aug. 9 and continuing over the course of the following nine weeks, the University of Hawaii Maui College’s Pā’ina Market was busy around the clock.

“Our incredible Culinary Arts Program faculty, staff, students and alumni, together with hundreds of volunteers, prepared, cooked, packed up and delivered an extraordinary 200,000 home-cooked, comforting meals for our fire-displaced neighbors,” explained UH Maui College Chancellor Lui Hokoana.

“As we all move forward on our island’s journey to recovery, it’s truly a blessing to get our students back into their regular curriculum, which includes cooking delicious lunches for folks both on campus and off.”

World Plate and Paniolo Grill are open for lunch and welcoming back with open arms both the campus community and the Maui community at large to Pā’ina Market.

Both of these outlets are guided by highly experienced chef instructors and run by students in the college’s award-winning Culinary Arts Program. They utilize as much local product as possible, some of it grown right on campus.

“For me, personally, as cathartic and rewarding as it was to be able to contribute to our community in need in the wake of the wildfire disaster, I think it has been good for everyone to begin classes again,” said World Plate Chef Instructor Gary Johnson. “A lot of students and their families were personally impacted by the fires, so being able to return that structure to everyone’s lives has been relieving, I think.

“Most of the students I have in class were part of our relief effort so, in a way, I have some of the most experienced students I have ever had for what would typically be a first-year course,” Johnson continued. “And we’re all happy to have people buzzing around our Pā’ina Building again.”

Currently, his class is working through some European-inspired menus. “The students have also begun working on their student week menu, which will be Korean- inspired and served the first week of December. That’s something we’re all looking forward to,” said Johnson.

Paniolo Grill Chef Instructor Noel Cleary is also happy to be back to his regular routine. He guides his students through ever-changing menus of food he describes as “meant to be delivered fast but definitely not fast food.”

“The focus,” he said, “is on made-to-order gourmet deli sandwiches — hot and cold, classic and creative, served with crispy fries — a salad of the week and a plate lunch of the week.” Portions are hearty; the flavors are varied and delicious.

Menus and times are subject to change; Pā’ina Market is closed on UH holidays.