(BIVN) – Chef Roy Yamaguchi will be the next executive director of the Culinary Institute of the Pacific at Kapiʻolani Community College.

Yamaguchi is one of 12 Hawaiʻi chefs who founded Hawaiʻi Regional Cuisine in 1991. He also became the first person from Hawaiʻi to receive the James Beard Best Chef Award. His name graces numerous top restaurants across Hawaiʻi, including Roy’s Waikoloa on the Big Island.

As executive director, Yamaguchi will also develop and implement the Culinary Institute’s new restaurant at Diamond Head – said to be the crown jewel of the program – and oversee its operation.

“Roy has strong family and business foundations in Hawaiʻi and the greater Asia Pacific and understands the unique economic, political, business and cultural environment of our region,” Kapiʻolani CC Chancellor Misaki Takabayashi said in a news release. “Throughout his career, he has demonstrated a deep commitment to education by founding and sponsoring scholarship programs and fundraising campaigns that have supported countless students at high schools and colleges here and abroad.”

photo of Chef Roy Yamaguchi from video courtesy the University of Hawaiʻi

From the University of Hawaiʻi:

Yamaguchi’s selection to serve as the executive director was based on recommendations from the campus-wide search advisory committee, the executive leadership team and feedback from public forums with all candidates. The executive director leads the CIP program, including overseeing the credit and non-credit programs, culinary research, food innovation, internships and apprenticeships. The executive director will also develop and implement the new CIP restaurant at Diamond Head—the crown jewel of the program—and oversee its operation.

“The development of the CIP at Diamond Head promises to take us to the next era of our culinary education, and is possible because of the inspiration, dedication and financial support of many,” said Takabayashi. The restaurant, now under construction, is tentatively scheduled to open in late 2024.