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Chef Roy Yamaguchi Talks About Life, TV, and Celebrating 20 Years of Roy's

YumSugar — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 13:28:31 -0700

This year, award-winning Chef Roy Yamaguchi is celebrating 20 years of Roy's, his eponymous high-end restaurant chain. He's throwing himself a big party and is celebrating at his restaurants around the globe. I recently had a chance to talk with him, and he was such a delight! He has morning breakfast rituals with his son, and got into cooking to meet ladies! To find out more about Chef Roy, including what he thinks of the current celebrity-chef trends, read more.

YumSugar: Thanks for chatting with us so early [it was 8:30 a.m. his time].
Roy Yamaguchi: Oh it's not that early, I've been up since 5 or 5:30. I usually get up and have breakfast with my son.

YS: What did you have for breakfast?
RY: There are two places I go for breakfast. One place is called Zippy's, it's a local coffee shop sort of place, and the other is Ruger Market. Today I went to Ruger Market. I go with my son and we always order the same thing, chicken long rice. Basically it's chicken that's cooked with rice noodles. We always get that, and the ahi poke and the pork laulau. And what we do is we always sit on a bench right outside the market near the parking lot.

YS: So it's been 20 years since you opened up the first Roy's. Did you ever think it would grow into an internationally-acclaimed enterprise?
RY: No, but at the same time, when we first started - actually that's a question I get asked a lot. What happened is that even I never thought we'd get this big, what I did was surround myself with very talented people.

YS: So what have you learned after all this time?
RY: For me, I've learned every day. The greatest thing about my role is that every day there's something new that happens to our company or to myself. There's not really one thing that comes to mind, but it's a great learning experience. I'm able to use my mind, my eyes, my hands, and my passion to work with every situation. Every day I wake up and feel energized to come to work.

YS: Speaking of passion, how'd you get started?
RY: I had a friend in high school, he asked me if I would consider taking home ec. I said I don't know what that is. He said don't worry about it, we'll be able to meet a lot of girls. [Laughs] I took it with him and fell in love with it. Don't get me wrong, my father loved to cook, he made most of the meals at home. So I already had that experience at home. I took home ec and a light just shined. At the end of the semester we made a Thanksgiving dinner and I invited the school counselor as my guest. He really enjoyed it and he said, "Hey Roy what do you want to do with your future? Cooking could be something interesting."

YS: Have you ever talked to him again?
RY: Unfortunately, he passed away years ago, but I did have a chance to talk to him and the teachers that wrote the recommendations.

YS: Is there anything you'd do differently in your career?
RY: Well, no, not different. At the end of the day, I think the greatest thing that can happen to an individual is that you can learn from your mistakes. Before Roy's, I had a restaurant that didn't work out. Those things are heart wrenching and tough, but because of situations like that, I was able to decide to open Roy's and really figure out what I wanted to do and how I wanted to do it.

YS: What's your opinion of the word "fusion"?
RY: Well, when I first started out, fusion was not a bad word. Then halfway into it, fusion became a bad word all of a sudden. Then you turn around and today it's a good word again. To me, fusion never had a bad connotation. It's just what I did. I come from being raised in Japan and then the US and then living in Hawaii, you know what I mean?

There's cross-cultural things that make our world what it is today. So fusion's needed to infuse cultures into things, but some people were doing weird things. But to me, fusion means progress. A lot of thinking is needed to put it together in a way that's better than the stand alone. So to me, fusion is a great word. It's telling people who we are.

YS: What do you think of the whole celebrity-chef culture?
RY: Well, there's two sides to the story. First there's the old-school celeb chefs who have become popular because of their great reputation in the culinary world. Then there's your so-called celebrity chefs that have made it through media via TV or Internet. And I mean, I'm not saying it's right or wrong, or one is better or not, but my personal opinion is that great chefs have gone through a lot of hard work building a foundation and spending time as an apprentice and working at restaurants. Then there's the chefs that become popular overnight because of TV. I'm not saying you have to cook a long time to be a great chef, I mean some people can cook for 50 years and still be a lousy chef. Years aren't really a big factor, but at the same time, when you do build a foundation, then you become a solid individual.

As for celebrity stardom, I think it's great for the industry and makes it more well known. But I don't want the people who have made it big via media to get, well how can I say it, get cocky, or think they're the greatest things ever. That would kill the industry. They should continue to educate and institute, because they're who the young kids look up to.

YS: Thanks for talking with us, I don't want to take up too much more of your time. Do you have any words of advice for the home cook?
RY: Keep it simple. Not everyone can afford to go out and buy kobe beef, but try and buy the best you can and the freshest you can. Stay organized and have everything ready. A good kitchen is a happy kitchen.

If you're interested to learn more about Chef Roy - he was so much fun to speak with! - you'll be able to see him at the remaining dates of his 20^th Anniversary Culinary Tour.

San Francisco, CA - Thursday, April 10
Chicago, IL - Thursday, May 22
Philadelphia, PA - Tuesday, Aug. 19
New York, NY - Wednesday, Sept. 17
Atlanta, GA - Tuesday, Sept. 23
Baltimore, MD - Thursday, Sept. 25

For more info, contact the Roy's near you.

Do You Know Roy Rogers?

partysugar — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 05:13:33 -0800

If he were still alive, today would be Roy Rogers the singing cowboy's 96th birthday. In honor of his birthday, I've put together a little quiz about the Roy Rogers cocktail. Could you pass as a bartender? Find out now when you take the quiz!

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Bravo Announces Judge Lineup For Top Chef: Masters

YumSugar — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 11:17:10 -0800

Last month, news broke that Kelly Choi would host the upcoming Top Chef spinoff, Top Chef: Masters. In a statement released this morning, Bravo has confirmed this as fact and also revealed the star lineup of judges for the new show.

Joining Choi on the judging panel will be former New York magazine restaurant critic Gael Greene, British food critic Jay Rayner, and Saveur editor-in-chief James Oseland. The culinary competition will follow the format of the original Top Chef series, but its contestants will be award-winning, widely known chefs, competing head to head for the title of Top Chef Master. As for the cheftestant lineup, The Feedbag has reported rumors of participating chefs.

Many have appeared on Top Chef as judges: Wylie Dufresne of WD-50, Scott Conant of Scarpetta, celebrity chef Todd English, and Michelle Bernstein of Michy's. Other possible competitors include seafood czar Rick Moonen, Hawaiian cuisine titan Roy Yamaguchi, Chris Lee of Aureole, Florida vet Norm Van Aken, Texas chef Tim Love, and possibly even Tom himself.

I'm getting excited about the lineup of both the judges and the rumored cheftestants. Do you feel the same way? Which chefs would you love to see on the show?

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Grey Goose Cocktail Dress: Love It or Hate It?

partysugar — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 08:00:45 -0700

Leave it to premium spirit Grey Goose to have a fabulously designed cocktail dress as a uniform. Inspired by the vodka bottle, the dress was created by fashion designer Rachel Roy. Since Grey Goose is her official sponsor, the cocktail dresses, which are to be worn by the brand's spokesmodels at publicity events, will debut at her fashion show in September. When compared to other food brand uniforms, I think these dresses are sleek and chic. How about you?

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From Alan Wong to 7-Eleven, Here's a Taste of Oahu

YumSugar — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 04:30:52 -0700

While I have been enjoying staycations, it was nice to recently have a real vacation in Oahu! Sure the beaches are outstanding, but the food is even better. The Hawaiian islands have experienced a bit of a food revolution: Gone are the days when everything was shipped from the mainland. Now the islands make use of their own resources from both the land and sea. The results are wildly delicious. Here, you'll find a taste of my favorites.

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Top Chef Masters: Episode 6

partysugar — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 00:30:40 -0700

The first round of Top Chef Masters was completed last night. The final quartet of chefs included no females, but Jonathan Waxman, Roy Yamaguchi, Michael Cimarusti, and Art Smith. The best thing about this episode was the return of Gail Simmons. Did you watch? If you are interested in discussing, read more.

Is it bad that I secretly want Jonathan Waxman to win simply because he trained Bobby Flay?
Have you ever been to Roy's? Do you like his Hawaiian Fusion?
If you competed on Top Chef Masters, what would your charity be?
How fabulous is Art Smith? Wouldn't Richard from Top Chef 5 consider him a teddy bear?
Whose quickfire dish looked the best to you?
There was a lot of camaraderie between the masters, do you think the regular Top Chef contestants would have felt differently about the shop-for-each-other elimination challenge?
How inspiring was it when the chefs set each other up with wonderful ingredients?
When should a chef cook out of his comfort zone and when should he stick to what he knows?
"Gael Greene and I go way back." Do you think Jonathan and Gael had a fling in the 80s?
Are you excited for the Champions Round?

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Bravo Posts Top Chef Masters Videos

YumSugar — Wed, 20 May 2009 15:00:20 -0700

To promote Top Chef Masters, which makes its series debut June 10, Bravo has posted videos introducing the show's chefs, an impressive list of industry names that includes Michael Chiarello, Roy Yamaguchi, Art Smith, and Rick Bayless.

The videos provide an amusing glimpse into the worlds of many of these acclaimed chefs. It's reassuring to know that Michael Chiarello has never met a Butterfinger bar he didn't like; that Wylie Dufresne had high hopes to be a professional athlete; and that Roy Yamaguchi got into cooking when he signed up for high school home ec so he could meet girls.

Check out the Michael Chiarello clip below, as well as the rest of the video introductions. Do these clips leave you with high hopes for Top Chef Masters?

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All-Star Lineup Announced For Top Chef: Masters

YumSugar — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 15:08:48 -0700

If you're already missing your weekly dose of Top Chef, don't fret: Bravo has announced the cheftestant roster for Top Chef Masters, a new series premiering June 10.

In addition to its impressive cheftestant list and exciting new lineup of judges, the new show will also feature special appearances from a number of personalities, ranging from the predictable (previous winners, Tom, Padma, and Gail) to the surprising (Neil Patrick Harris, Zooey Deschanel, writers and producers of Lost). The show has 24 of the country's most prominent chefs vying for a $100,000 charity prize. Like its original counterpart, each episode on the spinoff show will include a quickfire and an elimination challenge - except the first six episodes of Masters will consist of four chefs competing to name a winner. The six winners will then convene in the final four weeks and one person will be eliminated each episode until the finale, when the last one standing earns the title of Top Chef Master.

A surprising number of celebrity chefs were rumored to be on the show, and while some of the information turned out to be untrue, some of it was right on point. To find out which celebrity cheftestants will compete, read more.

Rick Bayless – Frontera Grill, Chicago, IL
Wilo Benet – Pikayo, San Juan, Puerto Rico
John Besh – Restaurant August, New Orleans, LA
Graham Elliot Bowles – Graham Elliot Restaurant, Chicago, IL
Michael Chiarello – Bottega Restaurant, Yountville, CA
Michael Cimarusti – Providence, Los Angeles, CA
Wylie Dufresne – wd~50, New York, NY
Elizabeth Falkner – Orson, San Francisco, CA
Hubert Keller – Fleur de Lys, San Francisco, CA
Christopher Lee – Aureole, New York, NY
Ludo Lefebvre – Ludo Bites, Los Angeles, CA
Anita Lo – Annisa, New York, NY
Tim Love – The Lonesome Dove Western Bistro, Fort Worth, TX
Rick Moonen – Rick Moonen’s RM Seafood at Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, NV
Nils Noren – French Culinary Institute, New York, NY
Lachlan McKinnon Patterson – Frasca Food & Wine, Boulder, CO
Cindy Pawlcyn – Mustards Grill, Napa Valley, CA
Mark Peel – Campanile, Los Angeles, CA
Douglas Rodriguez – Alma de Cuba, Philadelphia, PA
Michael Schlow – Radius Restaurant, Boston, MA
Art Smith – Table Fifty-Two, Chicago, IL
Suzanne Tracht – Jar, Los Angeles, CA
Jonathan Waxman – Barbuto, New York, NY
Roy Yamaguchi – Roy's Restaurants, San Diego, CA

Do you have any pre-show predictions? Who will you be rooting for?

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A Peek at the Food and Wine Classic Cook-Off

partysugar — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 15:00:09 -0700

The most hyped part of the Food and Wine Classic is the culinary competition that takes place on the last day of the festivities. The Classic Cook-Off pits the reigning Top Chef winner - this year it was Hung - against master French chef Jacques Pepin and his BFF Jean-Claude. The chefs were given a whole salmon, a bunch of ingredients leftover from the previous day's demos, and 18 minutes to create a dish and a cocktail. While Hung created a delicious-looking salmon and a frothy coconut-milk cocktail, the Frenchmen wowed the crowd with their salmon appetizer, salmon entree, wasabi cocktail, and souffle dessert. To catch a glimpse of the competition, check out our exclusive video below!

For more pictures of the cook-off challenge, including images from the second competition that featured Michael Symon and Tom Colicchio vs. Roy Yamaguchi; and a look at the celebrity chefs who were in the audience, read more.

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What's Yummy This Week - YumSugar Weekly Recap

YumSugar — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 10:09:11 -0700

This week we celebrated Grilled Cheese month by going crazy for grilled cheeses, especially this one for a honey-basil grilled cheese.
Can't wait for the Sex and the City movie? Get ready by planning your own Sex and the City Viewing party.
We take you behind the scenes at Google's fantastic cafeterias.
Did you watch this week's Top Chef? We want to know what you thought!
Top Chef not your thing? Then maybe you'll dish about this week's Hell's Kitchen instead.
Be sure to go behind the scenes at this year's Food & Wine Best New Chefs Event!
Read our exclusive interview with Roy Yamaguchi, it was one of my favorites all year!
Hoping to satiate your sweet tooth? Try these portable brownie muffins or this chocolate peanut butter fudge.
And finally, would you eat an entire meal blindfolded? I did!