KCC pastry chef clinches regional title

Shaylyn Funasaki is nothing if not industrious. Already a graduate of Leeward Community College’s Culinary Arts program, she’s returned to school at Kapiolani Community College to further her study, this time in pastry. The whole reason she got into the industry in the first place was for professional development in a completely different field.

“I worked with special-needs kids, and they loved to cook. So I thought, if I’m going to teach these kids, I’ve got to know how to cook,” she said.

But when Funasaki got further into her studies, she realized that what she really wanted to do was make pastry.

“I grew up baking with my grandma and I have a sweet tooth, so when I took baking classes at Leeward I knew pastry was it.”

It’s no surprise, then, that earlier this month Funasaki, 26, won the regional Jeunes Chefs Rotisseurs Competition, a culinary contest for chefs under the age of 27. It was held by several local chapters of the Chaine des Rotisseurs gastronomic organization, an international group with nearly 25,000 members.

Funasaki competed against Crislin Lehua‘Aloha Wong, Jacob Arakawa, Kainalu Marquez, Motley Adovas and Connor Underwood.

The contest involved a mystery basket of ingredients from which competitors were to make an appetizer, entree and dessert. In the basket were Kona lobster, whole duck, ulu (breadfruit), hoio (fiddlehead fern), papaya, butternut squash and rainbow chard.

Funasaki’s menu: a lobster chawan mushi (savory custard) appetizer; entree of pan-seared duck breast with red wine sauce, sauteed chard and squash puree; and a lemon semifreddo dessert with papaya coulis and candied ulu.

The dishes were the result of a month’s preparation. But Funasaki didn’t go that alone. She works as a pastry cook at MW Restaurant, where the entire kitchen staff, including chef-owners Wade Ueoka and Michelle Karr-Ueoka, have provided support. That will continue as she readies for the next step, a national Jeunes Chefs Rotisseurs contest in May in Charleston, S.C., where she will represent the Hawaii-Pacific region.

“We’re so proud of Shay,” said Karr-Ueoka. “She’s determined and passionate about what she does.”

The Ueokas passed on a lesson they learned from one of their mentors, chef Alan Wong, whom the couple worked for prior to opening MW. It’s the concept of “slot in, slot out,” or substituting ingredients based on their function in a dish.

“If you need an acid, you can slot in a lemon, or yuzu or calamansi,” Karr- Ueoka said. “What’s in season? Think of the flavors.

“I told her, when she goes to South Carolina, to try to have some kind of effect of Hawaii … in the food she develops. The crawfish they have out there is similar to Kauai shrimp. They have jambalaya (a spicy rice dish). What would a Japanese chef, a Chinese chef, a Filipino chef, do?”

After she graduates, Funasaki said, she wants to stay on at MW for a while, where she can soak up lessons from Karr-Ueoka, regarded as one of Hawaii’s top pastry chefs. Then, “hopefully, I’ll move on someday and become a head pastry chef somewhere.”