Hot Chef at the village
Chef Jeffrey Vigilla traveled the world learning different cooking styles, but now he’s back home and in charge of more than a dozen restaurants at Hilton Hawaiian Village. Getting some extra attention is the new Waikiki Starlight Luau, which boasts a food spread unlike any seen here. With him, Shylenn Hall (left) and Pi‘ilani Klein
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and the ocean - and let others see what we see each and every day,” says Jerry Gibson, area vice president of Hilton Hawaii and managing director of Hilton Hawaiian Village. “And our food is the best in the Islands. We have a huge variety of items.”
The menu includes traditional luau favorites, as well as local classics including rotisserie beef, Huli-Huli chicken, chirashi sushi rice, dim sum, as well as new creations that include Hawaiian paella with Portuguese sausage, shrimp, scallops and mussels. And there’s also a keiki buffet with all the kids’ favorites.
Vigilla explains, “When I take a look at a luau, there are three components that I believe a luau should have: great food, great show and great ambiance - and I think we deliver all of those points. With the food, do I feel it should be authentic? Yes and no.”
When composing the menu, Vigilla and his team looked at the clientèle, which includes both visitors and locals, and decided to expand on just serving a traditional Hawaiian menu. Vigilla says that it was important to have the traditional and local stuff, but also incorporate food more familiar to guests coming out that they’ll enjoy.
“You want them to taste the local and authentic, but at the same time you need to give them their comfort food,” says Vigilla. “We have the poi, ahi poke, lomi salmon, haupia cake, but we also have a nice lemongrass marinated Huli-Huli chicken and a suckling pig. So I think it’s a great menu, and the comments so far have been great. And we take all comments, because we always continue to improve. As a chef, you sometimes need to check your ego off to the side in the interest of ensuring a better product.”
Vigilla admits he’s a tough boss with high expectations for his staff, but that comes with the same level of expectations for himself. Fair enough, right?
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“I think you have to be firm, but at the same time how you deliver it is the key. I just spoke to the team and asked them, ‘If this was your own hot dog stand, how would you keep it?’ I want to set expectations with them because it’s all about refining their area of work and how they work. But at the same time I want them to have ownership. I’m just the voice of the philosophy of the kitchen, but they are the ones who are going to stir the pot - they deliver the product. My job is to engage them enough to have a sense of pride in what they do.”
And while the new Starlight Luau currently occupies most of Vigilla’s attention, he says he’s constantly refining and finding ways to introduce his food philosophies throughout the Hilton.
“Anyone can change a plate,” he explains, “but without the philosophy behind that, then it is just empty. And it’s really understanding the culture of our guest profile and what they want. I’m really trying to understand our clientèle to understand what I can do to assist them to feel a good comfort level with me. It’s a work in progress. But these small wins will lead to bigger wins later on.”
Another food philosophy Vigilla says needs to be managed on a day-to-day basis is on the restaurant side of the resort, which is to stay true to the concept of the restaurant.
“Guests have to be able to walk into the restaurant and get it,” says Vigilla. “Right now the restaurants are doing great on their own, but soon I’ll be putting a lot of my focus there, especially with the reopening of Tropics.”
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Creating the menu for Tropics Bar & Grill is the other big project Vigilla has taken on since joining the Hilton in January. The former Tropics Showroom is currently being renovated into a beach-front dining destination featuring indoor and outdoor seating for 300, an expansive bar, live entertainment and fire pits around the perimeter. It will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner, and is expected to open in early May.
So whether it’s Hawaiian Island beach classics at Tropics Bar & Grill or award-winning Pacific Rim cuisine at Bali By The Sea, Vigilla believes that it’s “an obligation that we have to be authentic and nostalgic in terms of food, but also be refined in our delivery to the guests.”
For Vigilla, it’s all about growth. Throughout his career he has always positioned himself in places where he could learn more. Being at Hilton Hawaiian Village is no different.
From when he was just a keiki, Vigilla remembers food always being around, whether it was helping Grandma in the kitchen or having to wrap laulau for baby parties. His food interests grew beyond cooking the vegetables that were grown on their farm to his first job in the kitchen as a dishwasher at Hilo Bay Hotel. At 19, Vigilla ventured to Oahu and spent about 10 years working in and out of hotels and restaurants.
Then he ventured further and spent about 20 years abroad.
For Vigilla, having the opportunity to return home as executive chef of the largest resort in Hawaii is definitely a dream come true.
Welcome home, Chef!
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