Chef Profile: Takashi Yagihashi

When did you decide to become a chef?
I've been cooking since I was 16. On my days off in school I would work at different restaurants to earn extra money. When I graduated, I couldn't get a job in the field I wanted, so I kept on cooking. One day, I started to really like it and got serious about it.

What was your first job in the industry?
In high school [in Japan] I worked as a dishwasher and a kitchen helper.

Did you have a mentor? If so, who and what did he/she teach you?
I worked with Gabino Sotelino, the chef/owner of Ambrio restaurant. I worked all kinds of stations for two years-in the pantry then as a line cook. That's how I came to be a chef de cuisine. As a chef de cuisine, I was [Gabino's] number two. Gabino was my boss, and later we became partners in the restaurant. He's from Spain and I learned a lot of things from him. We had a great time together.

Describe a typical workday.
At around 11:30 a.m., I start to make the day's menu. We print a new menu every day. I check the fish, meat and vegetable orders so I know exactly what's coming every day. We have three menus-an a-la-carte, a grand-tasting and a vegetable-tasting menu. Sometimes we have private parties and we also have a chef's table and I have to make a special menu for them. I make about five or six menus a day. Then I have a small meeting with the sous chef and the chef de cuisine to double check the menu. When the line cooks come in around 1 p.m., we have a meeting with them to go over the menu and explain any changes. Every day, we give one small appetizer to our customers as a compliment, so we discuss that. At 5 o'clock we have a full staff meeting to explain menu changes, tell our waitstaff what to push and what the specials are, and discuss the night before. From 7 to 9 p.m. is crunch time around here, and we're usually busy till about 10:30 p.m. When the last table leaves, I check what [food orders are] coming in tomorrow and consult with the sous chef.

What is the most rewarding part of being a chef?
I meet so many interesting people and can learn about different fields. Meeting new people is fun because it's not only food people, but sometimes it's musicians or executives of huge companies. Meeting people from so many fields is one of the wild things about running a restaurant.

What is your favorite thing to cook, and why?
I love seafood. I grew up by the ocean in Japan. There are so many different kinds of shellfish. I love their delicate flavor and aroma. There are so many different species, characters and flavors. It's interesting to cook all of the different types. Plus they're lighter and healthier than most foods.

What qualities do you look for when you hire employees?
We never hire someone from his or her resume. We let them work for three days to look at their background, their knife skills, their techniques. Then we sit down together and talk about whether or not this person will fit in here.

What advice would you give aspiring chefs?
The restaurant business is very difficult-food costs are high and labor costs are high. You have to work long hours, which can be very tough. But if you like it, it's a wonderful job. I enjoy what I do every day. There's always something I can learn-not only about food but about life. Patience is also very important. It takes so much time to run a restaurant the right way that you have to have a lot of patience.

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