DAVID CALVAN

FOOD & BEVERAGE LEADER.

CHEF.

HOSPITALITY PROFESSIONAL.

David Calvan is a chef and food & beverage leader with a career spanning restaurants, luxury resorts, private clubs and hotels in Hawaiʻi and California.

His approach is straightforward: start with good ingredients. Know your craft. Build a strong team. Run a sound operation. Pay attention to the details.

Care about what you're serving, the people you're serving it to, and whether they leave happy.

David began his culinary career in Hawaiʻi, where he learned the discipline of restaurant kitchens and helped open and build operations from the ground up. His career would eventually take him to California.

California became a defining chapter. Over the years that followed, David moved through restaurants, luxury resorts and private clubs, taking on increasingly complex culinary and leadership roles and developing the operational discipline that would come to define his career.

Today, he serves as Executive Chef and leads the food and beverage operation at Ala Moana Hotel in Honolulu while developing a new wine-focused hospitality concept in Hawaiʻi.

Through every chapter, the goal has remained remarkably simple:

Create an experience that makes people want to come back.

EXPERIENCE AT A GLANCE

30+ YEARS

Restaurants & Hospitality

25+ YEARS

Food & Beverage Leadership

10+ YEARS

Luxury Hospitality

HAWAIʻI + CALIFORNIA

Hotels • Resorts

• Private Clubs

• Restaurants

SELECTED CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

BIGHORN GOLF CLUB

Palm Desert, California

Chef de Cuisine

BIGHORN was a defining chapter in David's career. Working in an exclusive private-club environment gave him the opportunity to work with exceptional ingredients, highly personalized service and exacting standards.

Leading the kitchen at Canyons Steak House, he developed menus, introduced fresh fish and sushi offerings, and created private dining experiences tailored to club members and their guests. The experience strengthened both his culinary leadership and his understanding of the level of consistency and attention to detail expected in luxury hospitality.

WALDORF ASTORIA

La Quinta, California

Sushi Chef

At Waldorf Astoria, David worked within a luxury resort environment where exceptional service meant understanding that every guest experience could be different.

From large-scale resort operations to highly personalized dining, the work demanded attention, discretion and the ability to deliver at a consistently high level.

RANCHO LAS PALMAS RESORT

Rancho Mirage, California

Banquet Chef → Chef de Cuisine

David’s career at Rancho Las Palmas spanned two chapters and a broad range of resort food and beverage operations. He first served as Banquet Chef, overseeing culinary production for catered events of up to 500 guests, and later returned as Chef de Cuisine.

In that role, he led culinary operations for bluEmber, the resort’s signature restaurant, The R Bar and In-Room Dining, while managing a team of sous chefs and culinary associates. His responsibilities extended from menu development, wine dinners and private events to training, forecasting, food and labor costs, and maintaining resort standards.

THE KAHALA HOTEL & RESORT

Honolulu, Hawaii

Chef de Cuisine

David led culinary operations for Plumeria Beach House, The Veranda and the resort’s 24-hour In-Room Dining operation, managing and developing a culinary team of 15–20 associates while increasing restaurant revenue and guest counts.

The role also placed him at the center of The Kahala’s luxury guest experience, preparing and overseeing dining for VIP guests, dignitaries, celebrities and corporate executives.

ALA MOANA HOTEL

Honolulu, Hawaii

Executive Chef

At Ala Moana Hotel, David stepped into an operation with room to grow. As Executive Chef, his role has expanded well beyond the kitchen, with responsibility across the property’s food and beverage operation.

His focus has been on strengthening standards, improving execution and building an operation capable of growing—while keeping the guest experience at the center of the work.

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