Vegan Rigatoni Bolognese, Leeward Community College culinary student Kaleb Molina’s winning creation, is available at 7-Eleven Hawaiʻi stores for a limited time.
In December, 10 University of Hawaiʻi Community College culinary arts students competed in 7-Eleven Hawaiʻi’s annual contest to produce a better-for-you bento or entrée that could potentially be sold at all 7-Eleven Hawaiʻi locations.
“[Vegan Rigatoni Bolognese had] a really good flavor profile and we think customers who don’t eat vegan would eat this,” 7-Eleven Senior Category Manager Debbie Lee Soon said, after announcing the winner. Molina’s dish went on sale at 7-Eleven’s statewide on March 29. The three-week sales window could be lengthened if it does well.
Molina, who was recently featured in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s “Dining Out” section, told the interviewer, “This is a tremendous opportunity for me to get my name out there in this industry. 7-Eleven Hawaiʻi is a household name statewide and I have family all over Hawaiʻi and am so proud to have my relatives and friends hear about this. I am the first in my family to go to college.”
Past winners
This was the fourth time UH Community College culinary arts students competed for the opportunity to have their dishes sold at 7-Eleven Hawaiʻi locations.
- 2020: Kapiʻolani CC students Eri Abe (Wafu ʻUlu Stew) and Jeongyeon Shim (Tteobokki, spicy rice cake stir-fry) were co-first-place winners.
- 2019: Shrimp and Vegetable Sinigang Noodle Soup by Kapiʻolani CC’s Kainoa Reloza took the prize.
- 2018: Kapiʻolani CC student Primo Mateo’s Chicken Pastele Stew and Gandule Rice bento was the inaugural champion.
—By Kelli Abe Trifonovitch
