The special-events class in Leeward Community College’s culinary program gives students a chance to strut their stuff with the help of chefs from upscale Oahu restaurants.

Each semester the class puts on a dinner to rival an ambitious restaurant tasting menu. We’re not just talking cooking here, but all the aspects, including training the servers and ordering food. They learn, they cook, they make a little money for the program.

"It’s reality, yeah?" instructor Linda Yamada said.

The spring semester dinner, featuring guest chef Jon Matsubara of Japengo, was held April 11, but the lesson for the students ended just last week with the deadline for final reports, summarizing the experience and all their costs.

Matsubara said the students were interested in the trend of molecular gastro-nomy, which he turned into an emphasis on food science in practical use in today’s restaurant kitchens. He planned a five-course menu with each dish emphasizing a food-science technique.

They used transglutaminase (industry nickname: "meat glue") to standardize fish portions for a dish of "Black Magic" Spiced Salmon, employed a low-heat water bath for Duck Breast en Sous Vide, and used the additive maltodextrin to turn caramel into a "dust" for the dessert, Apple Banana de Leche.

The students and Matsubara will be showcased again at 6 p.m. Saturday during the annual fundraiser L’ulu, joining 12 other chefs for an on-campus dining event.

Tickets are $125 for unlimited sampling of all the chefs’ dishes. Call Fabi Castellano at 455-0300 or email fabiola@hawaii.edu.