Chef Vikram Garg, who brought some two decades of global experience with him to Hawaii, has stepped down from his position as executive chef at the Halekulani hotel.

Garg said he will continue to work in Hawaii, though he would not say where that will be. His last day was Feb. 19.

Garg, 46, took the helm more than seven years ago, overseeing the kitchens of La Mer, Orchids and House Without a Key.

He said he was brought on board to put the hotel at the forefront of Hawaii’s fine-dining scene, and to bring more focus to sourcing food locally, though he and his staff “cooked globally.”

“It took a couple of years to get to know farmers and to get to know the market. When I got here, nobody knew me,” he said. “Because of my Indian background, everyone thought we’d have Indian restaurants.”

Instead, he let his international experience inform the cuisine. Before the Halekulani, Garg worked in top restaurants in Mumbai, New Delhi and Bangalore, India; Dubai, United Arab Emirates; the Virgin Islands; and Washington, D.C.

Under his watch, the hotel did indeed gain prominence for its cuisine. The key to that success, he said, was that his staff understood his vision for the food.

“It’s imperative for the staff to know the philosophy behind the food, the direction of the food,” he said. “You can create a beautiful menu, but your team must understand it and be able (to) execute it. They must believe in you.

“My biggest gift at the Halekulani was that the team really believed in what we were doing.”

Peter Shaindlin, Halekulani chief operating officer, said Garg “played an important central role in a number of important innovative culinary initiatives” at the hotel, including Table One, a program in which Garg created a personalized menu for guests; the revamping of La Mer; and the creation of the amuse bouche menu at L’Aperitif Cocktail Bar that opened in 2012.

No replacement for Garg has been announced.