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November 4, 2000
FUSION FOOD AND RESTAURANT MEMORIES
Everybody it seems works a restaurant job sometime in his or her life. Whether it's flipping hamburgers at a fast food drive-thru or washing dishes at a sit-down eatery, restaurants are especially popular first jobs for young people.
| I thought I had learned my craft and consider myself a master at a barbecue grill today, but I was shamed by the chef at Roy's. |
Thinking back, I wonder if my co-workers and I even met health regulations for the way we stored, prepared and handled our food, and maintained the restaurant in general. I ate more free steaks and hamburgers than I can count, and drank gallons upon gallons of free Dr. Pepper -- so much so that to this day, I can't drink Dr. Pepper anymore.
In between all the silliness, I learned about working as part of a team, and got to appreciate the ebb and flow of restaurant work -- the times when a crew gets swamped, and when nary a customer wanders in. In spite of some of our loose standards, I also learned about rules and regulations and the proper way to prepare many foods. But I was just an amateur.
Last night I had the pleasure of seeing a professional restaurant operation in action from a close-up vantage point, with the added bonus of seeing creative contemporary Asian cuisine in the making.
Erin and I just dined at Roy's of Cherry Creek, a mid-to-high priced restaurant that's part of a chain started in 1988 by chef Roy Yamaguchi in Honolulu, Hawaii. There are now five Roy's locations in Hawaii, and 16 overall, scattered as far as New York, Guam and Tokyo. The Denver Roy's is snuggled in the heart of Cherry Creek Mall, the area's classiest shopping center.
The concept is simple, but innovative: Yamaguchi was born and raised in Japan to a Japanese-American family (his Hawaiian-born father was in the US military stationed in Japan, and his mother is from Okinawa), and learned his craft as a classically-trained chef at the Culinary Institute of America. Although he made his early reputation cooking in traditional French and nouvelle cuisines, when he opened his first restaurant in California, he combined the classic with the food he knew from his childhood -- Japanese and Polynesian. He opened the first Roy's Restaurant in 1988, Specializing in this east-west "fusion" food, and his business has been growing ever since.
We've dined at Roy's several times now, and enjoyed each visit immensely. Roy's hospitable staff is always attentive with their excellent service. The presentation of the food is terrific, with an Asian aesthetic flair, but never overshadows the flavors.
The menu changes regularly, but over the months we've had a terrific tuna sashimi appetizer, great Hawaiian style ribs, inventive seafood (the restaurant's specialty) and yes, steaks. This time we had a four-cheese polenta and excellent Caesar salad garnished with coconut-encrusted shrimp for appetizers. Our entrees were Hawaiian-style pork chops and "Mama Yama's meatloaf." The meatloaf, Roy's mother's recipe, is not the plain Midwestern creation; it's chockfull of exotic flavors that evoke its Asian roots. Even though we were stuffed, we shared a berry cr�me brulee for dessert. Each visit to Roy's, they've offered a different cr�me brulee - the first time was a spectacular cr�me brulee infused with black tea and lychee.
The latest visit was special because we got to sit at a small counter at one end of the kitchen, which is open to view from the dining room.
The counter seats afforded a perfect view into the complex workings of the kitchen. There were almost a dozen chefs working at different stations, with great intensity and concentration, like a smooth-running, precision machine. They had to be focused, since the place is so busy there's a constant stream of orders coming in. There was none of the ebb-and-flow of my restaurant days here -- these guys were all working hard all night.
None of the kitchen staff this visit was Asian, yet they had been well-trained in the preparation of Asian dishes. They dipped into a bowl of house-made kim chee as a garnish as if they were doling out cole slaw.
Each station handled a specific task -- the one closest to us assembled the different kinds of salads on the menu, while the main line in front of that stretched the length of the kitchen was in charge of the final presentation of all the dishes, as well as the side dishes that accompanied the entrees.
The huge grill and roaring fire was managed by a young man who was so good, he never even checked the meat or fish once it was set over the flames. He went about his business, and returned exactly at the right moment to turn the meat. I remember when I was a cook, I lifted the meat and constantly peeked underneath to check on its progress. I thought I had learned my craft and consider myself a master at a barbecue grill today, but I was shamed by the chef at Roy's.
We were impressed with the architecture of the kitchen, which was designed for maximum efficiency. Even the spaces between the counters seemed custom-made for the chefs to maneuver during the dinner rush without tripping over each other.
Being able to see the kitchen staff at work was a pleasure, and made us appreciate the food even more than before. I now realize that even if most people have worked in restaurants at some point in their lives, only a few can call themselves professionals in the business. You have to be serious about cooking, and committed to a career in the kitchen, to work in a top spot like Roy's.
Today I had leftovers for a heavenly lunch. The food tastes great even at home! Thanks, Roy -- we'll be back soon for another serving.
You can visit Roy's Restaurants online at its Web site.