Taro Sato

Taro Sato on the Hot Seat 

1. What inspired you to become a Chef?

My story is not as straightforward as one would think. The reason I got into cooking was a minimum-wage pot wash job I had taken up to make ends meet during my days as a college student. I gradually started helping with the food preparation. I started enjoying it more than the history classes I was taking at college – I progressed quickly at work as the café owner started to take notice of my growing interest in food preparation. Things started to fall in place and before I knew it, I started working as a chef at a leading local hotel and learned by trial-and-error method without any real/formal training.

2. What is your signature dish? What do people love about it?

It’s got to be Rainbow Sushi. It’s one of the brightest-looking and joyful dishes on my menu. An appetizing sushi roll that marries the complex flavors of yellowtail jackfish, yellowfin tuna, and salmon, with sous-vide cooked ‘butterfly’ prawns and avocado. This colorful, elegant sushi roll will surely delight your taste buds!

3. How do you describe your overall cooking philosophy?

I like to keep it simple. The main ingredient should always be the star. Personally, I stick to comfort foods, hot peppers, and anything smoked. The wife does pretty much all of the cooking at home. I'll cook for special occasions and parties, or when I get a bug to try something specific. Fortunately for me, she'd rather that I relax and enjoy dinnertime with the family rather than have to cook, again, on my day off. We buy as many minimally processed/ organic/ natural foods as our budget can handle.

4. Would you like to share a lesser-known fact about sushi?

I’d like to clear a common conception about sushi. While this is often seen as a Japanese invention, it was actually created in Southeast Asia. A dish called inarizushi, which consisted of rice with fish wrapped around it originated someplace by the Mekong River, which is nowhere near Japan. After being created there, it became popular in China before it reached Japan and became the popular dish that it is today.

5. When you’re not busy in the kitchen, what hobbies do you indulge in?

After a long week of work and stress, all I want to do is relax and spend some quality time with my loved ones and there is no better way to do so than to enjoy the fresh breeze and warm sun beside a lake while fishing.