The Founder
Meet Bonita Lao
Born and raised on Hawaiʻi Island, Bonita grew up working in Don's Chinese Kitchen, the restaurant her family operated for 30 years in Waimea.
Her 20+ year career in restaurants and hospitality has moved through four stages.
- 01
Culinary Excellence
A graduate of the California Culinary Academy, Bonita cooked in acclaimed kitchens including Boulevard (San Francisco), Longrain Sydney by Martin Boetz, Lotus by Merivale (Sydney), Badia a Coltibuono (Tuscany), Chef Mavro (Oʻahu) and Four Seasons Resort Hualālai (Hawaiʻi Island).
These kitchens taught her the precision, discipline and teamwork that exceptional dining demands.
- 02
Private Chef Services
Bonita built a private chef business on Hawaiʻi Island, designing personalized menus and in-home dining experiences for high-net-worth clients.
- 03
Business Ownership & Operations
Bonita built and ran a multifaceted food business: a restaurant, luxury event catering company for 5 to 500 guests, a proprietary sauce line and community ventures. She designed facilities, developed menus and products to scale, managed finances and built the systems her teams relied on for daily operations and growth.
A decade of mentorship under aerospace systems consultant Jim Hull taught her to run her kitchen the way manufacturers run production lines, the discipline behind the three businesses she built from the ground up.
- 04
Systems Architecture & Consulting
Bonita founded Lao Group Consulting to bring together all four phases of her career to help hospitality organizations build systems that deliver consistent guest experiences, and train their leaders to run and improve those systems on their own.
During an 18-month engagement with Nanea Golf Club on Hawaiʻi Island, she worked with the Board, General Manager, F&B Director and Human Resources to strengthen leadership communication, operational standards and daily execution. That work shaped Menu-First Architecture™, her approach to aligning an organization’s vision with its menus, training and performance.
Today, Bonita brings that experience to General Managers at private clubs and luxury resorts, building systems their teams can own and their members can count on.