"Years of system-wide university cuts have forced us to do fund-raisers for the culinary program," said Takahashi, who first started teaching at KCC in 1977. "We've had to find ways to offset costs that the state doesn't cover."

These non-State-covered expenses include $50,000 in annual repairs to aging equipment in the labs, the replenishing of supplies and professional development.

"If you're teaching at an art school, you wouldn't expect the student to pay for his own clay," Takahashi said. "So, as a culinary school, we don't expect our students to pay for the ingredients."

However, Takahashi and the rest of the CIP instructors do require all students to participate in the annual Hookipa, which is scheduled for Thu., Oct. 13, at the Monarch Ballroom at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel.

"Without Hookipa, the program would be washed in red," said Kelvin Ro, the event's chairman for the past six years. "Annually, we net an average of $100,000 to $120,000, half of which goes toward retaining faculty, replacing equipment, and hiring more instructors and sending them to train in foreign countries."

The other half of the net proceeds go toward the college's hospitality education program, which offers a wide range of courses in hotel management and travel-related disciplines.

"Students in the hospitality program pretty much run the front-of-the-house operations during the event," said Carol Hoshiko, dean of culinary, hospitality and college advancement. "They're the ones responsible for program planning and greeting guests that evening."

As in years past, instructors from both departments will support 500 to 600 students as they meet, greet and serve a hungry throng of guests.

"This a major live production for both departments," said Hoshiko, who has been busy writing state and federal grants in an attempt to expand KCC's culinary and hospitality programs over the next several years. "While students get valuable exposure and hands-on experience in participating at this level of an event, attendees will get to see their money at work.

"It's a tangible experience for them," said Hoshiko, referring to the evening's guests. "They make the connection that their money and longtime support are helping educate these rising chefs, and future hotel and tourism leaders."

Throughout the evening, culinary students will be readying such plates as masala-spice-crusted tenderloin of beef, slow-roasted veal short ribs, prosciutto-wrapped Chilean sea bass and Sri Lankan-style shrimp curry.

Miss Hawaii 2005 Malika Dudley will emcee the event.

Hookipa 2005 gives exposure to the programs' goals, including turning the old Cannon Club on the slopes of Diamond Head into a new $20 million, state-of-the-art culinary facility.

"We want to offer students the chance to earn an advanced four-year bachelor's degree," Ro said. "Right now, only a handful of colleges — such as Johnson and Wales — offer such a degree."

For the hospitality program side, Hoshiko is hoping to someday build a hotel for the college's practicum classes, much like Cornell University has done.

"Both are ambitious plans," she said. "We want to offer our students the best education possible."

With the CIP program now drawing students from all across the Mainland, Japan and China, Takahashi said the school is now already known as one of the best in the country.