Local chefs export their expertise to the ‘Chinese Hawaii’

KAIMUKI—Kapiolani Community College (KCC) has long been renowned for it’s Culinary Institute of the Pacific, which offers several programs to prepare students for employment in the food service industry. Many of its graduates directly feed into our local tourist industry, taking jobs at various resorts and restaurants in Waikiki and throughout the islands. Now, the KCC program is expanding its influence internationally to help shape the burgeoning tourist industry in the smallest province in the People’s Republic of China (PRC)—Hainan, an island roughly the size of Maryland.

This past summer, KCC chef lecturer Henry Holthaus presented Hainan with its first official ServSafe course on food safety and sanitation.  Certified by the U.S. National Restaurant Association, it is the preeminent training of its kind. The inaugural weeklong course in China was limited to 35 participants; 27 (77 percent) passed—an impressive statistic given that many of the concepts were unfamiliar and that the intensive 30 hours of content contained many culturally unfamiliar concepts, which then had to be translated into Mandarin.

You may be wondering why the United States, and Honolulu in particular, would be exporting its food safety practices to Hainan.  The answer is three-fold.

For one, Hainan is currently experiencing a boom in tourism and economic growth, making it a logical pathway for international goods and services to enter the Chinese market. Innovations could catapult it into becoming a premier international tourist destination.

Secondly, there is a long-standing relationship between Hawaii and Hainan; they have held sister ties for over 25 years. 

Finally, the United States happens to be at the forefront of food safety and sanitation, with KCC offering a relatively convenient and affordable program with immediate and tangible benefits.

In 1988, Hainan was established as its own province (it was formerly part of Guangdong and one of China’s most isolated areas) and subsequently became the “Special Economic Zone” of China. As such, it was given great authority to focus on becoming a more open, international society. In fact, it is the only province specifically designated to be developed for international visitors, making it a model for the internationalizing of China. 

Hu Jintao, President of the PRC declared in April 2008 that “Hainan Island should be developed into an international tourist destination.” 

Just one year earlier, Prime Minister Wen Jiabao announced that “Hainan should use its special authority to be “open, green, harmonious, and civil.” 

By January of 2010, Hainan’s touristification had became the official national strategy and Hainan found itself in the midst of an unprecedented period of growth partially afforded by the preferential policies it enjoys as a “Special Economic Zone”—allowing duty-free shopping, yachting, golfing, betting, special tourist visas, investment, financing, etc. 

There has been a concerted effort by the PRC to beautify its cities and control sprawl, which has borne witness to the shunning of polluting industries while actively building parks, planting trees, and promoting historic preservation. There is also a host of infrastructure projects underway, such as upgraded railways, expansion of airports, and a new and improved freeway network.

Besides enjoying unique economic privileges, Hainan is also the southernmost province of China and the only area of China that could be described as tropical. It shares roughly the same climate and semi-tropical latitude as Hawaii, making for a logical partnership between the islands. Both are also the youngest state/province in their respective nations. 

For all these similarities, Hainan has often been called the Chinese Hawaii. Yet Hainan’s population at eight million is obviously much larger than Hawaii’s (though for China, the population is relatively sparse) and has not yet been groomed for the tourist industry in the way that Honolulu has. 

Hainan may boast a large number of hotels, but their understanding of Western travel preferences and standards of service has not yet been realized, providing vast opportunities for cross cultural education and collaboration.

The food safety course was a collaboration between Honolulu attorney and former City Council member Leigh-Wai Doo and KCC. Doo has been an advocate for building friendly and strategic partnerships between the United States and China for decades, with an emphasis on that between Honolulu and Hainan.

Doo is also the Chair of the Foundation for Islands of Harmony, a channel of communication and collaboration to facilitate non-profit educational, charitable, cultural, and technical training and exchanges. Doo has long recognized Hainan’s potential to offer a new model for China, and has worked to find innovative ways for the two tropical islands to help each other develop economically and sustainably.

The question, therefore became: What can the United States, in general, and the KCC in particular sell to this emerging market? 

There is already fierce competition in the importation of luxury goods such as wine and European-style cookery to China, which accelerated after the 2008 Olympics. After considerable deliberation and inquiries to the Haikou (Hainan’s capital) tourism bureau, it became clear that practical training in the tourism industry in general and American certifications in particular would be highly prized. 

Hainan provided a ripe opportunity to market our expertise—the Chinese are still receptive to learning Western practices and before their tourism industry is fully established. When that realization came, Doo and the KCC team decided to design a ServSafe Food Safely and Sanitation training program with a corresponding certificate of completion.

It should be said here that the Chinese need for ServSafe is not because their food practices are particularly unsafe. For the most part, tourists do not get sick from eating at hotels and restaurants in China. But the lack of formalized standards of service means that a tourist new to the region does not know what to expect. Certification is reassuring and inspires confidence in the mind of the traveler.  Doo adds that the beauty of the Food Safety and Sanitation Course is that “it raises our consciousness on the importance of being careful with food,” something that is universally relevant. 

KCC educational specialist Daniel Leung was instrumental in coordinating the program. Having written the memorandum of agreement that made it possible, he is familiar with the administrative and practical obstacles posed by pioneering a course like this, despite the willingness of both sides. After a series of negotiations over a period of roughly eight months, the Haikou tourism bureau agreed to market the idea to chefs and managers throughout China and the Haikou vocational tourism school agreed to host the program. KCC flew Chef Henry out and the Haikou vocational tourism school provided a translator. The materials for the course were produced in both English and Mandarin. 

Chef Holthaus elaborated some interesting observations due to cultural differences. For instance, Chinese students were not familiar with the concept of a thermometer as it applies to cooking meat. On the other hand, the Chinese preference is for well-done meat, which makes temperature a bit less of an issue.

Chef Henry also applauded his translator, who captured the spirit of his humorous teaching style (check out his entertaining DVD, Shig Happens, sometime) and ended up taking (and passing) the course for kicks. In short, there were many challenges to overcome, with the end result far exceeding everyone’s expectations.

During our conversation, Doo reminded me that the true meaning of Aloha spirit is seeking that which is separated. It takes thinking outside of a hierarchal framework and looking for ways that organizations in different industries can work together towards internationalization, to mutual benefit. 

Similarly, Leung pointed out that the exchange goes both ways. By developing relationships with Hainan, Honolulu can also learn how to better service Chinese tourists. How can we better meet their expectations of service and travel so that Hawaii can strategically position itself to this rapidly growing market, both as a tourist destination and as an educational hub?

The implications of nurturing and developing this relationship are clearly vast for both parties.

For more information on the KCC’s Culinary Institute of the Pacific, including their food safety and sanitation program, visit http://culinary.kcc.hawaii.edu.