Huggo's Team
Ken Schloss-Executive Chef
Originally from the San Francisco Bay area, Chef Ken brings nearly twenty years of experience to huggo’s.
Born and raised in wine country, Chef Ken worked in Napa Valley for most of his career. He also took five years and explored the cuisine of the Caribbean, gathering new ideas of parallel tropical latitude culinary inspirations. As a multi-talented chef, his culinary achievements bring an added dimension to this family-owned award-winning landmark restaurant.
President Eric von Platen Luder
In 1982, Eric took over the day-to-day operation of Huggo’s from his parents and restaurant founders, Shirley and Hugo von Platen Luder. He is president of Olu Kai, Ltd., which does business as Huggo’s Restaurant, Huggo’s on the Rocks and Paradise Gourmet Catering.
Eric is a graduate of the local Hawaii Preparatory Academy in Waimea and earned a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree in 1979 from Southern Methodist University. A fourth-generation Chinese-Hawaiian, Eric has worked in every capacity at Huggo’s. He began as an aspiring 11-year-old bus boy, joining his brother and sister who also pitched in during summer vacations.
Just as Eric continually updates the menu, he keeps Huggo’s sprawling facility fresh with expansions and improvements. Both the patio and Huggo’s on the Rocks are available for private parties and buy-outs. (For more info see the Bookmark on Private Events). Look for continued expansion with the addition of an upper level, doubling the size of the restaurant.
While it’s important to satisfy customers, Eric recognizes the need to provide challenges and opportunities for Huggo’s employees. “We sponsor training by Elan Learning Institute for both management and food and beverage staffs,” says Eric. “Elan’s curriculum promotes teamwork and teaches life lessons that can be applied to work and home environments.”
Through this program, Huggo’s has instituted a “Trainers” group that is responsible for shepherding new hires and serves as a liaison between line employees and management.
Serving as a role model for employees, Eric served as president of the Kona-Kohala Chamber for two years (2003-2005). He has chaired the Government Affairs Committee and has been instrumental in starting up the Kailua-Kona Business Improvement District.
Organizing and participating in fundraisers is a key community component for Eric and Huggo’s. The largest billfish tournament in the world for women is Huggo’s annual Na Pua O Ka Kai, which benefits non-profit organizations like Family Support Services of West Hawaii, and most recently The Neighborhood Place of Kona. Started in 2000, the tournament raised over $50,000 in its’ first eight years. It is still going strong today.
For 15 years, Huggo’s hit the greens with its Halloween Hole in One Benefit Golf Tournament to help terminally ill youth via “A Dream Come True.” As Kona became saturated with golf benefits, Eric decided to try something different. “We tried a convenient On-Line Charity Auction,” says Eric. “In our second year, the auction raised nearly $8,000 of much needed monies.”
Eric shares his fundraising expertise as a member of the board of directors for the Hualalai Academy. Through participation in a brunch program he helped raise $8,000 for Friends of the Childrens’ Advocacy and volunteers Huggo’s and Paradise Gourmet Catering’s expertise and staff for various fundraising chef events. For a listing of Chef events, see the Calendar of Events.