A hydroponic kitchen that would host cooking demonstrations, hands-on teaching and school groups is being planned as part of Larry Ellison’s high-tech indoor agricultural facility expected to open by the end of this year on Lanai.
Lanai Resorts LLC, which does businesses as Pulama Lana’i, is applying for a special use permit for the $300,000 kitchen planned for a 20-acre site about 2.3 miles southwest of Lanai City. The kitchen installation is expected to take about one month.
The kitchen is another feature in Ellison’s $75 million hydroponic venture with plans to grow vegetables for sale cheaper than imported produce.
The kitchen would be installed in a “Headhouse” at the agricultural facility, where cooking demonstrations and meal preparations would be conducted using produce from 10 greenhouse structures, according to the company’s permit application submitted in April to the county. The greenhouses and a photovoltaic farm — which will power the facility and kitchen — are under development.