DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM Farrington High School students Paul Aguda, left, and Leonard Garcia mix white chocolate as they practice for this weekend's "salon" competition at Kapiolani Community College. Ed Andersen, assistant pastry chef at the Hilton Hawaiian Village and a Farrington graduate, is helping the student team prepare.

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Students who stand heat
will rule the culinary salon

You know all that talk about the joy of cooking? Well, yeah, food can be a happy thing, but getting it to the table can be a matter of major competition.

Culinary expo When: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday Place: Kapiolani Community College Admission: $10, includes $3 in food scrip (advance ticket purchases include $5 in scrip) Call: 734-9484 Highlights 10 a.m.: Wine-identification contest 11 a.m.: Ice-carving contest Noon: Truffle-cooking demonstration; sake seminar 12:30 p.m.: Waiter obstacle-course relay race 1:30 p.m.: Cooking demonstration, chef Hiroyuki Sakai 2 p.m.: Vegetable-carving contest; wine seminar 3:30 p.m.: Awards presentation All-day events: Salon cooking competitions; food booths Wine and Food Pairing Room: Additional $10 charge for tasting of four wines with patés, terrines, cheeses and fruits.

The professional culinary world fosters this cooking-as-a-battle through formal contests in which white-suited chefs are challenged to create picture-perfect works of fine dining.

These events carry the gentle name of "salon," which brings to mind a pleasant place of hairstyling and massage, rather than an arena where the competitors all have knives.

The Kapiolani Community College Culinary Arts Program challenges students to enter this fray at the Hawaii State Culinary Expo on Saturday.

Student teams from the state's community colleges, as well as a few high schools, will compete in the salon -- in hot and cold food preparation, as well as pastries.

What's at stake? American Express is funding a scholarship for the outstanding student in the cold-food category and former Iron Chef Hiroyuki Sakai is providing an internship at his restaurant in Japan for the hot-food winner.

Bragging rights for the winning team will be considerable, as well.

For the general, non-chef-hat-wearing public, the day's events offer a chance to observe some pretty stylish culinary footwork. Besides viewing the student creations, there will be ice- and vegetable-carving contests and seminars on wine and sake.

Sakai will host a cooking demonstration, along with chef Bob Passrelli, who will explain how to use the product of his farm, black truffles.

For fun, waiters will run an obstacle relay course.

And the eating will be good. Roy's restaurants, Diamond Head Market and Grill and the Sheraton Waikiki are among restaurants that will be selling plates.

DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM Farrington student Rodrigo Dufale airbrushes pastillage "grass," made of sugar to decorate a pastry creation, as Victor Baxa carries dough to the oven.

Busy weekend for an Iron Chef

Chef Hiroyuki Sakai will make several appearances after awarding the internship prize at the Hawaii State Culinary Expo Saturday.

The former French master of the Japanese cult hit "Iron Chef" has become a frequent Hawaii visitor over the last two years as he works on plans to open a chain of U.S. restaurants, including one on Oahu.

On Monday, he will sign photographs and serve samples of his new signature coffee blends, from 4 to 6 p.m. at DFS Galleria Waikiki.

Sakai is introducing vanilla-macadamia nut and chocolate-macadamia nut coffees, made by Royal Kona only to be sold at the Galleria. Sakai's pure Kona and Kona blend are already available in stores through Royal Kona's Signature Chefs' line.

On Sunday, Sakai will prepare a private dinner at the Pacific Beach Hotel, and on Tuesday he will help chef Chai Chaowasaree celebrate the sixth anniversary of Chai's Island Bistro with a five-course dinner. Cost of the Chai's dinner is $85. Call 585-0011.