Flash Graphic & Audio File by Don Sprinkle | Print Version of this article

MLP & MCA MEET OVER CHICKEN Maui Land & Pineapple Company, Inc. (ML&P) is a land holding and operating company dedicated to agriculture, resort operation and the creation and management of holistic communities. From its 1903 origins as The Maui Agricultural Company, a partnership of seven Maui companies, to its current organization, the Maui Pineapple Company has focused on stewardship based on genuine Hawaiian values and traditions. Maui Pineapple Company has developed vital partnerships with the University of Hawaii and EARTH University of Costa Rica to support research, education and community outreach. They are also working with these institutions to foster entrepreneurship in concert with environmental, social and agricultural sustainability. In it's efforts to develop diversified farming on Maui, ML & P is doing research and development work to meet the high demand for top quality fresh chickens needed by the Maui culinary industry. David Cole, CEO, has allocated people and money into this project as part of his vision to create and manage holistic communities that integrate agriculture, wise stewardship of natural resources and eco-effective design principles to build a sustainable future for Maui. Mr. Cole wanted to bring his people, who know chickens, into direct contact with people, who know about cooking them, and together they will develop the kind of fresh product that will add another high quality item to the "must have" shopping list of Maui's finest chefs. It was a very beneficial morning for all the people involved in this project. Mr. Cole was able to create an environment where there was real "cross pollination" taking place. He brought everyone from ML & P involved with the project to Maui Culinary Academy with the expressed purpose of helping his people see what the Maui chefs are looking for in "the perfect chicken." The ML & P people brought a number of their current crop of chickens and watched as the chef instructors and students prepared the chicken using several different cooking methods and presentations. The chef instructors also helped the ML & P people understand such basics as the best way to "dress" the chicken for the chef market as well as the pros & cons of fat content, moisture content, and flavor. The chicken producers were interested in seeing what they could do to make their chickens "da best" and then use their skills and knowledge to develop those qualities into their finished products. The culminating activity was, of course, a fine lunch featuring the ML & P chicken prepared by the chef instructors and students at Maui Culinary Academy!