Sessions
ʻAina in the Schools! - Launching the Next Generation of ‘Ulu Ambassadors (Optional - See description for details.)
11:30 AM - 12:45 PM Sat
Karen Sheff has been a Career Technical Education teacher in the Culinary Arts, Hospitality & Tourism program at Kealakehe High for 12+ years.
She is a mentor and organizer for numerous projects and events including Hawaiʻi ʻUlu Co-op product development, the Donkey Mill Thousand Bowls event, Chef under the Stars at Waikoloa Village, and award winning competitions and fundraisers.
Karen Sheffʻs mission is to prepare students holistically with a broad liberal arts education, healthy world view and an appreciation for culture to become ambassadors of Hawaiʻi's future. Her department at Kealakehe High School – Career Technical Education – offers students real life opportunities preparing them for careers and college.
Karen believes that understanding and appreciating homegrown products to cook with is what promotes island sustainability.
“Hawaiʻi ʻUlu Co-op promotes Hawaiian culture and food, providing not only products, but educational outreach,” Karen said.
Kealakehe High School’s culinary program director, Karen Sheff, says the culinary aspect of her program is “just the lollipop at the end of the road” for her students. Instead, she wants them to develop the real life skills necessary to create an end product. “They have to learn teamwork, communication skills, critical thinking, [and] organization … [all] in the process of cooking and getting that meal ready in an hour.”
The innovative young chefs of Kealakehe High School bring a school food service perspective and invaluable feedback to the Chef Hui ‘Ulu Ambassador program, partnering with HUC to recipe test added-value ‘ulu products since 2018. Sheff explains that this brilliant partnership gives her students the opportunity to practice “project-based learning and [have] tangible experiences,” while contributing to HUC’s work with the Hawaiʻi State Department of Education to make ‘ulu viable in public school cafeterias. “What better place to do it than in our high school since we’re the largest … on [Hawaiʻi] Island,” Sheff said. In the first semester of partnering with HUC, her students tested six different ‘ulu recipes, each one six times, learning “how much work goes into product development.”