Hilo’s culinary scene gets a bump from Honolulu chef

Chef Khamtan Tanh­chaleun has started working his magic at the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel as the leader of the hotel’s food and beverage team, which gives him the reins of the Queen’s Court Restaurant.

"Chef Kham," as he’s sometimes called, is moving up the chain of royalty, perhaps, given his most recent service as executive chef at the Hawaii Prince Hotel and Golf Club.

To the Queen from the Prince, as it were.

Like the Prince Court restaurant at the Prince Hotel, the recently renovated Queen’s Court Restaurant at Hilo Hawaiian is famous for its weekend brunches, a favorite of local residents.

Tanhchaleun was born in Laos and gained experience in Montreal, Los Angeles, Chicago and in Hono­lulu during divided stints beginning with at Michel’s at the Colony Surf.

He also was affiliated with Koolau Catering, part of the Koolau Golf Club in Windward Oahu, around 2005.

Tanhchaleun succeeds chef Piet Wigmans, who retired from the Hilo Hawaiian.

"Chef Tanhchaleun is very well respected in the Hawaii culinary field and we are fortunate to have been able to recruit him to one of our premier dining establishments and meeting spaces," said Alan Mattson, president and chief operating officer of Castle Resorts & Hotels, in a statement.

"As we begin this new chapter at Hilo Hawaiian Hotel and the Queen’s Court Restaurant we would like to thank Chef Wigmans for his outstanding contributions and welcome Chef Tanhchaleun to our family."

WE’RE TOP 10 AGAIN

Kauai is among the 10 best film locations in the world.

OK, so the list by the Australian version of Cheapflights.com might not be everyone’s pinnacle of achievement, but it’s free, positive publicity and was "diligently researched and hand-selected by its in-house experts," the website wrote.

The site’s ranking appears to give Kauai the No. 4 spot, behind No. 1 New Zealand (with a special nod to the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy), No. 2 Thailand (citing "The Man With the Golden Gun," an early James Bond film) and No. 3, Argentina, whose ranking mentioned several films including "Evita" (1996) and "The Motorcycle Diaries" (2004).

Of the Garden Island, Cheapflights wrote, "Kauai has been Hollywood’s tropical back lot of choice for eight decades now," saying it "oozes star quality" and noting that it has doubled for Australia, Central America, South America, Africa, Southeast Asia, the South Pacific "and in the case of ‘Avatar,’ a world that doesn’t exist."

Naturally, Cheapflights also cited the George Clooney film "The Descendants" and "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides."

Kauai was the top U.S. destination on the list with North Caro­lina and New York following sequentially.

The rest of the top 10 included Vancouver, British Columbia; London; Almeria, Spain; and Prague, Czech Republic.

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Reach Erika Engle at 529-4303, erika@staradvertiser.com or on Twitter as @erikaengle.