HALEKULANI ANNOUNCES FOOD AND BEVERAGE TEAM PROMOTIONS & NEW APPOINTMENT
Award-Winning Luxury Hotel Appoints Three Exceptional Executive Chefs
HONOLULU, Hawaii – September 8, 2022 – Halekulani, Oahu’s most acclaimed luxury hotel just steps away from Waikiki beach, announces several team developments within its Food & Beverage department. The property’s very own Orchids Chef de Cuisine Christian Testa and La Mer Chef de Cuisine Alexandre Trancher have both been promoted to new Executive Chef roles. Additionally, Ms. Pauline Lam joins the hotel as Executive Pastry Chef. The three chefs will bring their collective expertise to perpetuate Halekulani’s legacy for award-winning cuisine and gracious service.
After serving as Orchids Chef de Cuisine for six years, Chef Testa has been promoted to Executive Chef of Halekulani. In his new role, he will be responsible for leading the culinary operations across all the hotel’s dining venues, including Orchids, House Without A Key, Lewers Lounge and Cattleya Wine Bar. He will also oversee Banquets, Halekulani Bakery & Restaurant and In-Room Dining. Under Chef Testa’s direction, Orchids was recently named the reference restaurant for outstanding Italian cuisine in Hawaii from the Honorary Consul of Italy for the State of Hawaii.
Chef Trancher has been promoted to Executive Chef of La Mer after overseeing the restaurant for over a decade as Chef de Cuisine. In his new position, Chef Trancher will be responsible for leading the culinary operations of the award-winning restaurant and L’Aperitif. Under his culinary leadership, La Mer has remained one of the most prestigious fine dining restaurants on Oahu and Hawaii’s longest, consecutively-ranked AAA Five Diamond and Forbes 5-Star restaurant.
Executive Pastry Chef Pauline Lam joins the award-winning culinary team. With over 20 years of experience, she has trained at Le Cordon Bleu London, and worked as a Pastry Chef at several well-known restaurants, such as Bouchon Bakery, under the direction of renowned Thomas Keller, as well as Spago.
Chef Lam will oversee Halekulani’s bakery and dessert operations, ensuring the quality execution of bread, pastry and dessert items across all food and beverage outlets.
“We are delighted to announce the promotions of Chefs Testa and Trancher, as well as welcome Chef Lam to our esteemed Food & Beverage team,” said Ulrich Krauer, General Manager of Halekulani. “I have no doubt that this exceptional and dynamic team will sustain Halekulani’s legendary dining experiences and gracious hospitality for many years to come.”
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About Halekulani Corporation
Halekulani Corporation owns and operates the globally acclaimed luxury resort Halekulani and the new luxury boutique hotel Halepuna Waikiki by Halekulani in Hawaii. Halekulani represents a luxury hospitality legacy of unique and iconic proportions and has been globally recognized with more than 500 awards. Halekulani is home to award-winning SpaHalekulani, House Without A Key, Lewers Lounge, Orchids and La Mer, Hawaii’s longest, consecutively ranked AAA Five Diamond and Forbes Travel Guide 5 Star Restaurant. Following a multi- million-dollar transformation, Halepuna Waikiki by Halekulani debuted with the Halekulani Bakery & Restaurant. The hotel, which is situated in close proximity to its iconic sister property Halekulani, was designed by acclaimed New York City-based firm Champalimaud providing hospitality hallmarks of the Halekulani brand such as innovative guest experiences and gracious service.
About Halekulani
Since its inception in 1984 as one of the world’s finest and most acclaimed independent luxury hotels, Halekulani has received more than 500 awards, most recently, Travel + Leisure 2020 readers’ poll, the “Best Service in North America,” as well as voted one of the Best Hotels in Hawaii by USA Today’s 10Best. Halekulani is home to SpaHalekulani, House Without A Key, Lewers Lounge, Orchids, Cattleya, and La Mer, Hawaii’s longest, consecutively ranked AAA Five Diamond and Forbes Travel Guide 5 Star Restaurant. For over twenty years, Halekulani has maintained a strong commitment to arts and culture in the community through exclusive alliances with Oahu’s most iconic cultural venues. Halekulani is operated by the Hotels and Resorts of Halekulani, a brand management division of the Honolulu-based Halekulani Corporation, which also oversees the newly opened Halepuna Waikiki by Halekulani. Halekulani is a member of The Leading Hotels of the World and is aligned with Tokyo’s legendary Imperial Hotel. For further information, please visit www.halekulani.com.
About Halekulani Okinawa
Halekulani Okinawa, the second hotel from the leading Hawaiian resort of the same name and first outside Hawaii, is a luxury beach resort located in Onna Village on the main island of Okinawa. Featuring a variety of accommodations built to emphasize the geographic features of its surroundings, Halekulani Okinawa sits on 32 acres of lush land within the Okinawa Kaigan Quasi-National Park and faces approximately one mile of coastline. Halekulani Okinawa is home to a diverse array of facilities including eight restaurants and a bar. In addition, the property features the prestigious SpaHalekulani, a fitness center, a luxury boutique, over 2,550 ft2 of meeting and convention space and five swimming pools, one of which is adorned with nearly 1.5 million mosaic tiles in the shape of Halekulani’s signature Cattleya orchid. Halekulani Okinawa is the third property in Japan to join The Leading Hotels of the World, an exclusive collection of the world’s most extraordinary luxury establishments. For further information, please visit www.okinawa.halekulani.com.
Halekulani Corporation Media Contact:
EVINS Communications
Email:[email protected]
Halekulani and Halepuna Media Contact:
Bonnie Bise, Public Relations Manager
Email: [email protected]
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