Chef Roy Yamaguchi
Roy Yamaguchi, an original member of Continental Airlinesí Congress of Chefs, celebrates 20 years in the restaurant business this year, with commemorative festivities that have included a nationwide tour of the mainland United States and Hawaii. With 34 restaurants worldwide, including locations in Japan and Guam, as well as 11 in the United States, Yamaguchi has an extraordinary talent for mixing and matching distinctive flavors from the East and West and is credited with creating Hawaiian Fusion© cuisine. The chefís culinary imagination is perhaps a natural product of being raised with two cultural influences — his Hawaiian father and grandparents and his Japanese upbringing. We caught up with our world-famous chef to ask a few questions and request a favorite recipe from his latest cookbook, Royís Fish & Seafood: Recipes from the Pacific Rim.
Q. Who influenced and inspired your decision to become a professional chef?
A. My mother was an excellent cook. I remember the taste of her creamy white sauces and fragrant brown gravies. An avid gardener in her spare time, she grew lush vegetables and a plethora of lettuces for flavorful salads. My parents owned a restaurant in my hometown of Württemberg, in southwestern Germany. I worked in the restaurant and learned every aspect of the operation — from menu planning and food preparation to purchasing supplies and controlling our food costs. I guess you could say it’s in my blood. After receiving my degree in business management, I completed a cook’s apprenticeship and attended a vocational school for the hotel and restaurant industry.
Q. Who is the most inspiring chef youíve ever worked for?
A. There are two ó the chef de cuisine Michel Blanchett and the late chef/owner Jean Bertranou from LíErmitage in Los Angeles, which offered nouvelle French cuisine. After building a solid foundation at the Culinary Institute of America, where I received my formal education, I learned just about everything I know from these two individuals.
Q. Who is your favorite chef?
A. Nobu Matsuhisa. Iíve known him for nearly 25 years. Heís an honest man with conviction, passion, loyalty, and integrity toward his staff, his profession, and his guests. A classically trained sushi chef, Nobu is the acclaimed chef proprietor of Nobu, Matsuhisa, and Ubon restaurants, with 20 locations across three continents.
Q. When youíre not cooking, what are your favorite pastimes?
A. In my spare time, I enjoy hanging out with my kids, playing golf, or reading.
Q. Who or what influenced you to be a professional chef?
A. A friend of mine asked me to take a home economics class in high school as a way to meet girls, and the rest is history!
— Tammy Briggs
219,000
Number of pieces of sushi BusinessFirst passengers consume on flights to and from Tokyo every year
