What does a chef do when he can’t cook?
That was the situation facing Ikaika Manaku, chef from the Sheraton Kaua‘i, who along with chef Junior Pascual was one of 13 teams presenting at the Elsie Wilcox Elementary School Career Day, Monday.
“We had to rotate between the classrooms so it would have been to hard to set up and do an actual cooking demonstration,” Manaku said. “So instead, we discussed safety in the kitchen and other aspects of our jobs.”
Wilcox Elementary School kicked off its series of Career Day presentations by offering presentations to the school’s fourth- and fifth-grade students this week, said Yvette Blake, a counselor and coordinator for this year’s Career Day presentation.
Students eagerly greeted their presenters, some of whom got the students involved in their careers.
That generated ki-ya shouts outside one of the classrooms as Shelly Yokote, a martial arts instructor, had the students engaged in basic kata and exercises.
Beth Tokioka, director of the county’s Office of Economic Development, said her job was difficult to talk about, but came armed with a plethora of material aids so the students could understand what she does.
Hartwell Blake came to talk about the Kaua‘i voyaging canoe along with representatives from the Polynesian Voyaging Society, and Suzanne Kashiwaeda said this was a perfect opportunity to recruit future employees as she presented a unit on social workers.
In a schedule released by Yvette, second-grade students had their Career Day presentations Tuesday with first- and third-grade students being treated to presentations on Wednesday.
Today, the school’s pre-school and kindergarten classes get their Career Day presentations with the week being capped with a Career Day parade tomorrow morning.
Manaku might not have been able to cook a dish this time, but he did have an opportunity to tell the students about a Halloween “party” that will take place Friday night in Po‘ipu.
• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@kauaipubco.com
