Get off freeway 405 at Seal Beach Blvd and head towards Old Ranch Pkwy, and you will find Kobe Japanese Steak House on your left. When you open the door of the restaurant, an elegant courtyard welcomes you. You will also notice a picture of NBA star Kobe Bryant displayed proudly on the wall. The restaurant’s owner took the picture when the celebrity visited the steakhouse. In addition to the excellent food, the restaurant offers lively conversation with the chefs and live music entertainment to the guests. I visited Kobe Japanese Steak House just after the lunch hour. Chef Ray Akao came out of the kitchen to greet me with an unpretentious smile. Chef Ray works in the teppanyaki section and he has an amiable personality and a gentle demeanor.

Ray Akao originally came to the Unites States in 1987 to study interior design. Ray was a diligent student, studying hard everyday, but his funds began running out. Ray decided to work at a Japanese restaurant to financially support himself. Since he had been preparing his own meals already, he first tried to utilize his personal experience on the job. Ray soon realized, however, that he needed to learn more comprehensive skills if he wanted to make it in the restaurant business. Ray then started to work even harder, both as a waiter and as a member of the kitchen staff.

In 2003, at the restaurant Ray was working, the owner asked him if he was interested in cooking teppanyaki. Ray grabbed the opportunity mainly out of curiosity. Cooking steaks right in front of the customers was fascinating to Ray. This fascination became his motivation. And Ray soon captivated customers’ hearts with his marvelous skills with a knife. The teppanyaki cooking style keeps the meat tender and juicy because the high temperature of the grill (about 450 to 500 degrees Celsius) helps seal the meat juices and all the umami inside. Even after the premium quality meat is perfectly cooked, Ray’s job is not yet done. In fact, severing up the meat evenly into bite size pieces gives him another chance to show off his skills with the knife. Chef Ray knows that he has to live up to his customers’ expectations. He also knows that there is no do-over or covering-up because of the teppanyaki setting. Chef Ray used a lot of tough and cheaper meat to practice this phase of cooking over and over before he achieved his current level of technique and expertise.

Teppanyaki chefs serve multiple customers at each table. Teppanyaki chefs cannot lose concentration while cooking because they are constantly in the customers’ field of vision. On the other hand, satisfactory smiles and positive feedback from the customers provide instant gratification to teppanyaki chefs. Ray said, “it is thanks to all the support I’ve received from various people that I got where I am today,” as he disappeared back into the kitchen.