Do what you can to help Philippines typhoon victims

The wheels are turning at the Filipino Community Center (FilCom), the Waipahu institution that has headed relief efforts bound for the Philippines from Hawaii.

Typhoon Haiyan, the superstorm that tore through the Philippines early Friday, is inspiring numerous fundraiser projects, including a Dec. 1 "Kokua Philippines" concert. In the meantime, monetary donations are being accepted by the FilCom (checks made payable to Filipino Community Center, with a note designating it "for typhoon relief"), to be relayed to a distribution network in the Philippines. That’s likely to involve the Consuelo Foundation, said Rose Cruz Churma, FilCom president.

Churma said Filcom and the foundation were already set to discuss the best way to coordinate disaster response on Nov. 23, long before Haiyan was on the horizon, but the timing is helpful now.

You’ve just crossed over into the ChefZone

It really says something about Hawaii’s growth as a dining destination that Y. Hata & Co. Ltd., the kamaaina food-service distribution company, will open ChefZone near the airport next summer.

So many restaurants have sprung up around town that a 45,000-square-foot membership store catering to restaurateurs and nonprofits has carved out a niche. Who knew we’d have enough chefs to occupy their own zone? Well, considering the plans for the Culinary Institute of the Pacific at Diamond Head, perhaps we’ll be home-growing a bumper crop of them. Bon appetit.