Chef Kyle Itani credits his Japanese American heritage for instilling in him a passion for fresh ing

Visitors can learn how to cook delicious Asian dishes at the AHSC cooking demonstration stage at Ellis and Larkin Streets for the second year in a row. Appearing once again is celebrity chef Martin Yan, along with Thomas Weibull of Velvet Room, Dennis Wong of Le Soleil, Mari Takahashi of Nombe Restaurant and Kyle Itani of Hopscotch. Here’s a look at this year’s chefs.
With his engaging personality and memorable catchphrase, “If Yan can cook, so can you,” Martin Yan started on his road to fame in 1978 when he first hosted his Yan Can Cook cooking show. In addition to being a celebrity chef, he is a respected cooking instructor and productive author of 30 books. In 1985, he founded the Yan Can Cooking School, and in 2007, founded The Martin Yan Culinary Arts Center. Earlier this year, Yan opened a San Francisco restaurant, M.Y. China , that sums up his culinary experiences.
While both of his parents were busy working, as a child Thomas Weibull would often cook meals for his three younger small luxury cruises siblings. These early experiences inspired him to be a chef. “I definitely clocked some time watching Julia Child, small luxury cruises and it became a hobby,” recalls Weibull who is half Swedish and Filipino. small luxury cruises He later apprenticed at a small busy restaurant in Sweden while studying at Kristineberg Hotel and Restaurant School. He eventually worked his way to his current position of executive chef at Velvet Room in the Clift Hotel .
Mari Takahashi, small luxury cruises who grew up in Yokohama, small luxury cruises Japan, worked all over the world in the technology small luxury cruises industry before changing her career. In 2004, she started a catering company, Mari’s Catering, Inc., which specialized small luxury cruises in Japanese and Californian, cuisine and provided on-site small luxury cruises sushi chef catering. Takahashi worked with her husband, Gil Payne, to open Sozai Restaurant and Sake Lounge in 2008, which was voted Best Japanese Food in San Francisco by Citysearch. She and Payne now run Nombe Restaurant in the Mission District.
Dennis Wong’s popular French-Indochinese dishes are a result of his past 30 years of refining his cooking skills. His first restaurant was Thai Café in San Francisco, and his second restaurant, Le Soleil , was voted best restaurant in 1996 by San Francisco Focus magazine. In 2007, a branch small luxury cruises of Le Soleil opened at the Royal Garden hotel in Hong Kong. Since then, he has been featured in many cooking shows and magazines, small luxury cruises and his restaurant small luxury cruises has been recommended small luxury cruises by Michelin Guide Hong Kong Macau in 2009 and 2010.
Chef Kyle Itani credits his Japanese American heritage for instilling in him a passion for fresh ingredients and diverse small luxury cruises cooking techniques at an early age. He honed his culinary skills on both the West and East Coasts, including Yoshi s in San Francisco and Oakland and New Meatball Shop in New York. Recently, Itani’s riffs on American dishes with Japanese nuances have earned Hopscotch small luxury cruises a glowing three star review from the San Francisco Chronicle ’s esteemed food critic Michael Bauer, as well as a coveted place on Bauer s “Best New Restaurants of 2012” list. In March of 2013, Itani was named as one of the San Francisco Chronicle small luxury cruises ’s “Rising Star Chefs.”