Hawaiian Airlines names new executive chef

Hawaiian Airlines has selected Lee Anne Wong, chef and owner of Honolulu’s Koko Head Cafe, to lead its in-flight dining program as the carrier’s new executive chef starting June 1.

She will replace chef Chai Chaowasaree, who said he is leaving the position to focus more on his restaurant and catering business. Chaowasaree has led Hawaiian’s in-flight meal program since September 2010. Wong will work with Chaowasaree during a transition over the next few months.

Hawaiian’s in-flight meals will continue to be paired with wines selected by master sommelier Chuck Furuya.

Wong, whose regional and global fusion dishes have been showcased in-flight as part of Hawaiian’s “Featured Chef Series,” currently oversees meals on the carrier’s inbound flights from Japan. She gained national attention when she appeared on the first season of Bravo’s flagship series “Top Chef” and was the series’ supervising culinary producer for six seasons.

She also appeared as a contestant on this season of the show.

“We saw great success with Chef Lee Anne’s menus during our Featured Chef Series program and more recently, on our Japan routes,” said Renee Awana, managing director of product development at Hawaiian. “We’re thrilled to extend our relationship with her and look forward to sharing her popular island cuisine with many more of our guests.”

Wong will design and oversee Hawaiian’s meal program for first-class passengers on domestic flights and business-class and economy passengers on international flights.

Wong graduated from the International Culinary Center, formerly known as the French Culinary Institute, and began her culinary training at Marcus Samuelsson’s Aquavit before playing an integral role in the opening of Jean Georges Vongrichten’s Chinese concept, Restaurant 66.