Chai Chaowasaree joins Hawaiian Airlines as Executive Chef

Hawaiian Airlines has appointed Chef Chai Chaowasaree as executive chef, charged with designing the airline’s inflight meal program for First Class and Coach Class passengers.

Chef Chai will initially design the menus for Hawaiian’s new daily, nonstop flights between Honolulu and Tokyo, Japan, which launches 17 November 2010, before designing the menus for all of Hawaiian’s domestic and international flights systemwide in 2011, including the start of service four times weekly to Seoul, South Korea, on 12 January 2011.

Blaine Miyasato, Hawaiian’s vice president of product development, commented, “Chef Chai brings a fresh, pan-Asian approach to cuisine that is a reflection of Hawaii’s diverse cultural influences and the perfect complement to Hawaiian’s growing international service. Our customers are going to love the new meals that he has in store for them.”

Based in Honolulu, Chef Chai is a nationally recognized, award-winning chef and owner of two popular Hawaii restaurants, Singha Thai Cuisine in Waikiki and Chai’s Island Bistro at Aloha Tower Marketplace in Honolulu. As a founding member of Hawaii’s Island Chefs, is committed to promoting the agriculture and aquaculture of the islands.

Each week, Chef Chai hosts a Hawaii TV cooking show, and last year authored The Island Bistro Cookbook, which earned an award of excellence from the Hawaii Book Publisher Association.

“I’m honored to serve as Hawaiian’s executive chef and excited about the challenge of offering customers a new selection of menus that will make the flying experience to and from Hawaii even more enjoyable,” said Chef Chai. “Hawaiian has become established as one of the world’s premier airlines and I’m very proud to now be part of the team that is bringing such high-quality service to its customers.”

 Hawaiian is complementing Chef Chai’s inflight meals with wine pairings selected by Master Sommelier Chuck Furuya. A recognized expert at pairing wines with Pacific Rim cuisine, Furuya became the first person in Hawaii and the tenth person in the United States overall to earn the title of Master Sommelier in 1988.

Chef Chai is taking over as executive chef at Hawaiian from Chef Beverly Gannon, the award winning restaurateur from Maui who has designed meals for Hawaiian since 1999.

See other recent news regarding: Airlines, Airports, Awards, Flights, Codeshare, Lounges, First Class, Business Class, MICE, GDS, Rewards, Miles, Hotels, Apartments, Promotions, Spas, Yoga, Retreat, New Hotels, Traffic, Visitor Arrivals, Cruises, Free Deals, Videos, Hawaiian Airlines, Hawaii, Gourmet, Chef