The chef for whom Hiroshi Eurasion Tapas is named, Hiroshi Fukui, is no longer at the helm of the Waterfront Plaza restaurant.
"He’s moved on and is pursuing other things," Chuck Furuya, operating partner for Hiroshi and the adjacent Vino Italian Tapas and Wine Bar, confirmed Wednesday. Fukui’s departure was effective Aug. 2.
Fukui, meanwhile, registered Hiroshi’s Restaurants LLC in May, and Hiroshi Eurasion Tapas is listed under that corporate banner as a registered trade name.
Fukui will be cooking in the upcoming Hawaii Food & Wine Festival, though without a restaurant kitchen or staff, he has canceled some other appearances.
He is looking at "different offers and there are quite a few out there," Fukui said. In the meantime he is taking "a short break" and reviewing the best possible options for moving forward.
He "definitely" will stick to the Asian fusion food concept for which he is best known, given his training in traditional Japanese cuisine and the popularity of fusion-style cooking techniques and flavors pioneered in Hawaii by Roy Yamaguchi and Alan Wong, Fukui said. The Hawaii Regional Cuisine chefs "opened a lot of windows of opportunity for a lot of chefs," Fukui said.
DK Restaurants, which owns Hiroshi, Vino, Sansei Seafood Restaurant & Sushi Bar and Maui Fish & Pasta, will continue to operate Hiroshi Eurasion Tapas.
DK Restaurants’ top chefs will attend the eighth annual StarChefs.com International Chefs Congress in New York at the end of September, Furuya said. "It’s a message to our team" that the company will help team members evolve and grow, he said.
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On the Net:
» www.dkrestaurants.com
» www.starchefs.com/cook/events/icc/2013
