ROY YAMAGUCHI of Roy’s Restaurants on the Culture of Hospitality — Restaurant Influencers (RI011)

Chef Roy Yamaguchi knows it takes great people to make great food. The celebrity chef and multiple restaurant owner found culinary success by focusing on his belief in creating a culture of warmth and hospitality. The focus of Roy’s food empire is on a foundational question: What can you do for people today that’s above and beyond? The ultimate goal is “to give them something that you know they wanted but haven’t asked for.”

WHAT DID YOU LEARN on this episode of the Restaurant Influencers podcast, sponsored by Toast (@ToastTab)? Let us know by leaving a YouTube comment below!

CHAPTERS:

[00:54] - Winning James Beard Award

[01:43] - Opening His First Restaurant

[04:50] - The Roy’s Restaurant Concept

[09:10] - Hawaiian Cuisine

[17:58] - Being on Hell’s Kitchen

Roy Yamaguchi is a Restaurant Influencer —

The world-renowned chef and owner of 10 restaurants in Hawaii began his career in the 1980s with a big splash. He gathered 70 investors and opened 385 North in Los Angeles, California. The massive establishment had enough room to seat over 300 patrons, and was the talk of the town for a while.

“The talent I had was in the kitchen. We were short on the management side of it. You need to have the ability to operate a restaurant from A to Z,” says Chef Roy on the Restaurant Influencers podcast hosted by Shawn P. Walchef of Cali BBQ Media

With the opening of Roy’s in Hawaii in 1987, Chef Yamaguchi was intentional in who was serving the food.

“For me, I always think that I look at the humanistic side of a chef, first. Are they good humans? Are they good people?” he explains. “When they are good people, that, to me, makes their ability as a chef even higher.”

• FOLLOW Chef Roy Yamaguchi on Social Media @chefroyyamaguchi

Infusing the entirety of his culture and belief of the importance of immaculate service with great people serving great food has catapulted Roy’s Restaurants to a huge level of success, and made Chef Yamaguchi a household name.

Roy leads with his heart and gratitude, crowning the local farmer, ranchers, and fishermen he sources ingredients from as “superstars''. He is fully in tune with the role that each element of Hawaii plays in the success of his Roy’s Restaurants, and wants to give that back to them 100 fold.

WHAT DID YOU LEARN from this interview? Let us know in the comments.

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EPISODE LINKS:

• Chef Roy Yamaguchi Online

• Roy’s Restaurants

• @ChefRoyYamaguchi on Instagram

NOMINATE A RESTAURANT INFLUENCER — Do you know someone or a restaurant who is great on social media? Let us know by emailing influencers@calibbq.media or sending the @calibbqmedia team a DM on social media.

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ABOUT CHEF ROY YAMAGUCHI:

Culinary pioneer and Roy's founder Roy Yamaguchi was born in Tokyo. It was while visiting his grandparents on Maui that he had his first taste of seafood bought fresh at seaside piers — fond memories that would shape his future career. At 19, he graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in New York as a master chef and moved to Los Angeles where he served as executive chef at La Serene. After gaining invaluable experience in LA, Roy decided it was time to head closer to his roots. He moved to Hawaii and opened the first Roy's in 1988.

Roy Yamaguchi is regarded as an international culinary visionary and the creator of Hawaiian fusion cuisine. His numerous accolades include the prestigious James Beard Award. Roy has also hosted six seasons of the television show "Hawaii Cooks with Roy Yamaguchi," seen in more than 60 countries, and has published three cookbooks.

• Connect on Instagram

ABOUT RESTAURANT INFLUENCERS:

Welcome to the Restaurant Influencers podcast series, sponsored by Toast POS (@toasttab). Every week host Shawn P. Walchef (@shawnpwalchef) talks with leaders in restaurant and hospitality about their secrets to Smartphone Storytelling and how to show up and engage where customers are spending time online.

The weekly digital series (audio, video, writing, images) is hosted by Cali BBQ Media Founder Shawn P. Walchef and presented by Entrepreneur Media (@entrepreneur), Yelp for Business (@yelp), and Cali BBQ Media (@calibbqmedia).

• Entrepreneur Media

• Yelp for Business

• Cali BBQ Media

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SPONSORED BY TOAST:

Restaurant Influencers is brought to you by Toast, the powerful restaurant point of sale and management system that helps restaurants improve operations, increase sales and create a better guest experience.

Toast — Powering Successful Restaurants

Learn more at pos.toasttab.com