Business Leader Finalist
Star chef leads by example, in and out of the kitchen
Pacific Business News (Honolulu) - by Janis L. Magin Pacific Business News
Twenty years after opening his first eponymous restaurant, chef Roy Yamaguchi has become one of the best- known ambassadors for Hawaii and the regional cuisine movement he helped to create.
Yamaguchi, one of the 12 founding members of the movement in the early 1990s that emphasized cooking with fresh island ingredients, today has 37 restaurants, including seven in Hawaii. He’s in 10 states on the Mainland and on Guam and in Japan.
And he spends time cooking at each one, spending six months in the Islands and six months on the road.
“When I travel I’m definitely in the kitchens in each location,” Yamaguchi said. “When I’m back home in Hawaii, I’ll be in the kitchen.”
Last month, the Roy’s in Hawaii Kai marked its 20th anniversary with two dining events that featured 24 top chefs from the Mainland. The event raised money for the Culinary Institute of the Pacific and for Yamaguchi’s alma mater, the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y.
Fellow Hawaii regional cuisine co-founder and chef Alan Wong noted that when Yamaguchi opened the first Roy’s in 1988, Hawaii Kai “was known as a ‘graveyard’ for restaurants of that caliber.”
“But he arrived with a reputation for his style of fusion cuisine, his awards and a following of media,” Wong wrote in support of Yamaguchi’s nomination. “The kind of exposure Roy draws has set the benchmarks nationally for Hawaii regional cuisine and for a brand of hospitality that proudly speaks of Hawaii.”
Yamaguchi, 52, has been honored with numerous cooking awards, including the James Beard Award in 1993, has had his own cooking show on public television and has been a guest on dozens of national programs, drawing more attention to Hawaii.
Yamaguchi’s “Hawaiian fusion” style also is focused on sustainability and continuing the Hawaii regional cuisine tradition of buying locally produced food.
“It’s all about working with sustainable agriculture and the fisheries, and utilizing the products that Hawaii bears and being able to get the freshest ingredients from the Islands,” Yamaguchi said.
In Hawaii, he formed a friendship and partnership with Dean Okimoto of Nalo Farms, which grows fresh vegetables and herbs for Roy’s.
“It’s always been important for me to make sure we work with farmers that care about the land and make sure we can leave our land for our kids for the future,” Yamaguchi said. “To me it’s like building a marriage, and what you want to do is find yourself and work with someone that you trust.”
Yamaguchi also is focused on helping to educate the next generation of chefs. He, along with Wong, is an honorary co-chairman for the University of Hawaii’s Culinary Institute of the Pacific. He also is a trustee at the Culinary Institute of America and has established several scholarships.
The Hawaii school, which offers two-year programs at five community colleges, will offer a four-year degree in conjunction with the University of Hawaii-West Oahu when the institute opens a new campus on the site of the old Cannon Club at Diamond Head sometime in 2011 or 2012.
“Roy leads by example and freely shares his talents to promote Hawaii and to ensure that our future generations have the requisite training and educational opportunities to success,” John Morton, the University of Hawaii System’s vice president for community colleges, wrote in support of the nomination.
Yamaguchi also is a leader in business, mentoring the staff at each of his restaurants.
“It’s always a challenge. It’s never ending,” Yamaguchi said. “There’s a lot of great things that we want to do. We’re always working on who we are.”
jmagin@bizjournals.com | 955-8041
Related Industry News |
Latest News |
Most Viewed Stories |
Most Emailed Stories |
