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My Father
Was My Mentor
When Shigekazu Chiba was three years old, his father,
Yusuke, was transferred to the United States to take
up a new post as a kappo chef (fancy traditional Japanese
cuisine) leaving his family behind. With his father’s
business card in his hand, young Shigekazu conceived
of the dream to be a chef just like his father when
he conjured up the image of the father. When Shigekazu
was eleven, his father finally opened his own restaurant
called “Chiba” in North Hollywood. The
family was reunited and the restaurant has been in
business ever since. |
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However, Shigekazu felt
very sad to see his father at work. It brought tears to
his eyes to see his father cooking teriyaki chicken despite
his skills as a top class kappo chef. Shigekazu, nevertheless,
felt deeply attached to the North Hollywood restaurant he
virtually grew up in. In order to help his father’s
business, Shigekazu at the age fourteen decided to become
a professional chef. Shigekazu went back alone to Japan
when he was sixteen to hone his skills as a sushi chef.
After some years of culinary training at a first-class restaurant
in Yokohama, Shigekazu came back to America. Looking up
to his father as a role model, Shigekazu started managing
Chiba restaurant’s business first with his father
and later became its owner when his father retired. |
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Sense of
Gratitude
Chef Shigekazu Chiba has a deep sense of gratitude
toward those who have worked so hard to popularize
Japanese cuisine in America. When Japanese food was
first introduced in this country, it was extremely
difficult to purchase choice fresh seafood. “Thanks
to their persistence, we can now obtain high quality
seafood,” chef Chiba credits his predecessors.
Another major thing chef Chiba is thankful for is
the fact that the days have ended when chefs as skillful
as his own father had to compromise themselves in
order to cater to popular tastes. As a result of these
incessant efforts by many pioneers, chefs at Japanese
restaurants are now capable of ordering the freshest
ingredients from all over the world. |
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Commitment
to Uncompromising Quality
His commitment to uncompromising quality is born from his
sense of gratitude to his predecessors. Now that seafood
of the highest quality is available whenever it is in season,
chef Chiba never allows himself to compromise in terms of
either taste or quality. In order to maintain quality, it
is also important to develop good trusting relationships
with key vendors. Chef Chiba sees to it that he makes every
effort in that critical area.
“I never serve anything
that I feel is unacceptable,” is how he expresses
this commitment. Pride in his craftsmanship is indispensable
to persistently following this credo. “I don’t
care how expensive it may be. I must have the freshest seafood
at all times,” chef Chiba says firmly. Chiba restaurant
never fails to offer the best quality seafood to its customers
precisely because of this uncompromising commitment to quality. |
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Sushi
Made with Heart
Great sushi can not be made by great seafood alone.
“Not only your brain and skills but also your
heart has to go into creating great sushi,”
chef Chiba explains his philosophy. The persistence
and pride in one’s craftsmanship are important
but can not be forced on others. Eagerness to please
one’s customers needs to be at the core of the
chef’s being when making sushi. If a customer
wants a certain sushi roll, then that is what it takes
to please that customer. “(Although some people
say sushi rolls do not deserved to be called sushi,)
I don’t agree with them. Making my customers
happy ..., that is what I take pride in,” chef
Chiba says with a dazzling smile.
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We are sure that Chiba
restaurant is crowded again today with a lot of customers
hungry for sushi made with the freshest seafood and seasoned
by chef Chiba’s heart and soul. |
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