Mari Wills
Occupation: Chef/Dietitian
College: Kapiʻolani Community College, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, University of Rhode Island
What school you grad? Kalāheo High ‘07
Location: Kāneʻohe, HI
Mari Wills is a chef, registered dietitian and recipe developer born and raised in Kāneʻohe. She founded Bite Logic, a culinary nutrition consulting business specializing in recipe development and nutrition analysis, after recognizing the opportunity to bridge culinary craft with evidence-based nutrition.
She also serves as a chef consultant with the Culinary Institute of America, where she is working alongside Chef Roy Yamaguchi and Kapiʻolani Community College’s Culinary Institute of the Pacific and the HIDOE’s School Food Services Branch to redevelop school menu items to feature more locally inspired dishes that incorporate Hawaiʻi-grown ingredients.
She taught culinary arts at Henry J. Kaiser High school in the 2024-25 school year and was also voted Fan Favorite on Season 1 of Hawai‘i News Now’s cooking competition show “Kitchen Scraps.” She’s also part of the Hele Rolls team competing on Season 19 of Food Network’s “The Great Food Truck Race,” which premiered on July 26.
After attending Hongwanji Mission School, ʻAikahi Elementary, St. Andrew’s Priory and Kalāheo High Schools, Wills went on to study culinary arts at Kapiʻolani Community College. She later earned her bachelor’s degree in dietetics from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and her master’s degree in dietetics from the University of Rhode Island.
Q: What was your journey like after high school?
A: A week after graduating high school, I moved to Los Angeles with my heart set on going to art school for photography but I fell in love with the culinary world instead! I’d save up money each paycheck and try LA’s vast food scene and was inspired to go into cooking. I ended up moving back home and attended Kapiolani Community College’s Culinary Institute of the Pacific and knew this was the path for me!
Q: What are you up to these days?
A: These days, I work as a chef consultant for the Culinary Institute of America (CIA), where I’ve had the opportunity to collaborate with HIDOE to create new locally inspired recipes for the upcoming school lunch menus. This project is so rewarding to me since two of my children attend public schools. Aside from my work with CIA, I have been busy building my social media page (@bitelogic), where I create recipe videos that feature Hawaiian ingredients and local classic recipes with an innovative twist! I also recently competed on Food Network’s “The Great Food Truck Race Season 19,” which aired on July 26th!
Q: Why did you choose this career path and what do you enjoy most about it?
A: Culinary arts was surprisingly not on my radar. I originally wanted to become a fashion photographer. During my senior year of high school, food competition shows were all the rage and I was genuinely intrigued by the creative aspect of cooking. After moving to Los Angeles and trying new cuisines plus fine dining for the first time, I wanted to give cooking a shot. When I finally attended KCC for culinary arts, for the first time in my life I felt like I was in the right place. I bounced around schools as a kid, but the culinary classes felt so complete. I bonded with so many classmates and got to share my new passion for cooking and learning new techniques with all my new culinary school friends. Culinary school was truly an unforgettable experience!
Q: What makes you #PublicSchoolProud?
A: The thing that makes me #publicschoolsproud is knowing that my son currently attends the same high school I went to!
Q: Favorite subject in school?
A: My favorite subject in school was art. I was that artsy kid who loved to draw, paint, take photos, and film things. My creative artistic side transferred into my cooking!
Q: What type of extracurricular activities were you involved in?
A: In high school, I was always involved in art and photography clubs. Creating art was always my little escape from reality.
Q: What was your favorite school lunch or breakfast?
A: My favorite school lunch was kalua pig and cabbage!
Q: Name of a teacher or mentor you’d like to thank?
A: I’d like to thank Mrs. Pierce from ‘Aikahi Elementary who was my favorite teacher and became my son’s teacher. She always encouraged me to be myself and embraced my creativity!
Q: What advice do you have for students?
A: If I could give any advice to the students, it would be to follow a career that you enjoy! Sometimes your career might not start off in the traditional sense. Find a mentor in the field you’re interested in while you’re still in high school. The knowledge they can pass on to you will be invaluable for the rest of your life and can truly set your future up for success!
