December 20, 2024 • 23 mins
Join us for an illuminating conversation with the extraordinary Chef Lance Nitahara as he takes us on a personal culinary journey from the tropical shores of Oahu to the esteemed Culinary Institute of America (CIA) and beyond. Discover how Chef Lance masterfully marries his Hawaiian heritage with classical culinary traditions, transforming these influences into an innovative approach that has earned him global acclaim. In this episode, we also welcome Pooch Rivera, who spices up the dialogue with creative dishes like an Asian-inspired Reuben and lamb fajitas, crafted using versatile Aussie Select products.
Chef Lance shares the thrill and pressure of competing in high-stakes culinary events, drawing deeply from his Hawaiian roots to showcase unique flavors despite logistical challenges such as sourcing authentic ingredients. Amid the cultural shifts he experienced moving from Hawaii to the CIA, Chef Lance discusses not only the culinary adjustments but also the strategic mindset required to excel in competitions. His approach to coaching emphasizes rigorous practice, a philosophy that has empowered many of his students, including the promising Sechan Park from South Korea.
As we navigate the intricate world of culinary education, Chef Lance provides valuable insights into the
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Carl Fiadini (00:04):
Hello food fam.
This is the Walk-In TalkPodcast where you will find the
perfect blend of food fun andcooking knowledge.
I'm Carl Fiadini your host,.
Welcome to the number one foodpodcast in the country.
We're recording on site at IbisImages Studios, where food
photography comes alive and Iget to eat it.
Chefs and food buyers.
Try Aussie Select's fullycooked, pasture-raised
(00:24):
Australian lamb.
Enjoy flavors like agave,rosemary, tikka masala and more,
available sliced or whole.
Discover more ataussieselectcom.
This week we have the talentedchef Lance Nitahara joining us
and, trust me, you won't want tomiss this.
He hails from the stunningshores of Oahu, hawaii.
Chef Lance has a culinaryjourney that spans across the
(00:47):
globe.
He's taken his roots from theislands, blending them with rich
culinary traditions learned atthe Culinary Institute of
America.
That's the CIA baby.
It's fascinating how henavigates the world of flavors
and today he's here to sharethat experience with us.
But that's not all.
But wait, there's more.
Chef Lance isn't just anincredible chef.
(01:08):
He's also an educator, shapingthe next generation of culinary
talent.
He's been recognized for hisoutstanding contributions to
culinary competitions, coachingstudents to national victories
With his unique perspective asan instructor and competitor.
He'll well, we're going to divedeep into that, and what that
means is he's going to bring theBig Island flavors to a global
(01:30):
audience.
That's basically what it means.
I tell you what today, in-house, we have the Pooch Rivera,
hello, hello.
Yes, my man, how you know likeit's.
I mean, this was whirlwind, youknow, came in late last night,
as it always is.
Pooch Rivera (01:48):
Yeah, You're here While the French Quarter burns
as we speak.
Guys, there's a big fire in theFrench Quarter, so shout out to
everybody in New Orleans andthat whole culinary scene down
there.
It's kind of crazy.
Yeah Well so, everybody, if youdon't know Chef Pooch, he's
(02:08):
from Louisiana, from New Orleans, and yeah, you just got word
over there on the the RoyalSinesta Hotel, which is right
across the street fromRestaurant Revolution.
Yeah, it's just kind of crazy.
Chef Lance Nitahara (02:12):
That's a big property, that's a big deal.
Pooch Rivera (02:14):
With the Super Bowl and such coming, so it's
kind of crazy.
Carl Fiadini (02:18):
All right.
So today you made some really,really pretty dishes.
Let's talk about it Go.
Pooch Rivera (02:23):
Well, we use Aussie Select, which is a proud
sponsor of ours, and I wasalways wondering how I could do
something with Aussie Select,being that you know it is a
cured meat.
So we decided we were going todo play on a Reuben we did kind
of an Asian flair Reuben inhonor of Chef Lance coming on
the show and so we did a littleginger marinade, inix law and
carrots.
We se a little ginger marinadein ixlaw and carrots.
(02:44):
We seared off the the lambwhich was it was a prime rib,
it's lamb prime rib which waskind of unique to use.
Never really thought of usingthat as a prime rib, but it was
really cool seared that off with, obviously with the help of
john, we plated that up and madeit look beautiful I can't do
anything without john these days, guys.
That's the truth and it wasdelicious.
So we did that.
And then we transitioned intofajitas.
So so we know we've been sayingwe need to do fajitas so many
(03:07):
times and we never really figureout how to do it and I was like
let's use the Aussie Select andlet's use the prime rib to see
how that worked out beautifully.
You know, I was a littleworried that we wouldn't get a
lot of that flavor, of theMexican flavor, in there and it
really transitioned in well.
It tasted so good with all theroasted vegetables, all the
above.
But Aussie Select, guys, issomething that any it's your
chef's best friend, you know itcuts out a lot of corners and a
(03:28):
lot of you know back in the dayyou wouldn't want to buy
something that was alreadypre-cooked or pre-made.
These they're made for chefs,so it's out there.
It's the best product you canbuy and reasonably priced $12 to
$15 a.
Carl Fiadini (03:40):
that would have stayed, guys I know that jack
jacklin's gonna be super, superhappy.
All right, without further ado.
I mean.
By the way, listen, beautiful,beautiful stuff you made today
tastes good too.
Johnny, you gotta give all thecredit to the food stylist.
Johnny, I mean seriously, comeon all right, without further
ado.
Chef lance, how are you?
Chef Lance Nitahara (04:00):
sir, I'm doing.
Great thanks for having me on.
Carl Fiadini (04:04):
I am so excited about meeting you in person the
US Culinary Open in Februaryover at the NAFM show in Atlanta
.
Me too, I want to start withyour prodigy, because we had a
phone call the other day, afairly long call, about an hour,
and you were really hyped up onthis kid.
Talk about him.
Chef Lance Nitahara (04:24):
His name is Sechan Park.
He hails from South Korea.
He's a student at the CIA,where I teach, and he was never
my student.
However, he was my competitorthat I coached for this past
year's SkillsUSA competitionthat was held also in Atlanta
and the same convention centerwe're doing the US Culinary Open
(04:46):
at.
I mean, this kid is amazing.
The reason why I chose him tobe my assistant was his mindset
is just so focused and drivenwhen it comes to culinary
competition.
He's a machine.
He really is.
He's got a lot of experiencealready.
He represented South Korea inWorldSkills the WorldSkills
(05:07):
competition, internationalcompetition beautiful food
coming from this kid.
He you know, I say kid, he's 19years old and he is just
amazing.
When we work, when we worktogether and we practice
together, he's he's literallycooking circles around me.
I am the privileged one to havehim at my side.
Carl Fiadini (05:26):
That kind of leads into this competition.
You're up against some heavyhitters, beard Chefs and
Michelin Chefs and Food Networkwinners and whatnot.
How does having the right souschef, in this case your
assistant how does that fare foryou with your nerves going into
(05:46):
this competition?
Chef Lance Nitahara (05:47):
I've been thinking about that for a while.
With Seitan, having him as myassistant for me, I can sleep
better at night because I knowthat I have, you know, one of
the best young people out thereyoung chefs out to help me with
this.
It's kind of like when I was inculinary school, I was actually
the assistant for the certifiedmaster chef exam.
I feel like, you know, I gaveit the best go that I could give
(06:10):
, although I was not nearly astalented as Sechan is, but I
feel better having him on myside During practice.
He's saved our food more timesthan I have.
My confidence level hasincreased by, you know, 20 fold
having him as my, as myassistant.
But looking at the competition Iknow, on on the, on the website
(06:32):
we can, we can see who ourcompetitors are and I kind of,
you know, sort of looked intotheir backgrounds and looked at
them.
It would make anyone nervous,obviously, because there's a.
You know there are people thatI'm competing against that you
know I I could only dream tohave the kind of experiences
that they've had, the kind ofchops that they have.
So for me, the more I look atit, the more I guess nervous I
(06:58):
could get and the more uneasy Icould get and the more you know
pressure that builds upon me.
So I've decided to go the otherroute and just not really worry
about that at all, if thatmakes any sense.
Carl Fiadini (07:12):
It makes a lot of sense and I know that because of
your culinary background fromwhere you're from in Hawaii,
that's probably going to findits way into what you're doing
there.
Are you able to talk about thata little bit?
Chef Lance Nitahara (07:27):
The theme of my menu really is the flavors
of my childhood, or at leastthe flavors of Hawaii, sort of
encapsulated into three moderntakes on, not necessarily
singular Hawaiian dishes, butpreparations, Hawaiian
preparations utilizing someHawaiian ingredients that we've,
(07:50):
we're going to be able toprocure and bring to the
competition ourselves, but alsotechniques.
Carl Fiadini (07:56):
So when I do taste these flavors it does bring me
back to my, to the flavors thatI remember in my childhood for
the record, uh, listeners whohave not been to hawaii yet in
their lives when you get off theplane there and chef, we talked
about this the other day onceyou, when you get off the plane,
the first thing it's a smallairport, it's outside.
(08:16):
You step off and the firstthing you realize everything
smells like flowers.
It's just, it's it's in the airand it's amazing because you've
you, you realize that it'sparadise and you're in it and
it's beautiful.
And if you can capture justthat and and and have that in
your in your dish, chef, I feellike that is going to.
(08:41):
I mean, it's a winner.
I'm just saying yeah.
Chef Lance Nitahara (08:46):
I think, well, one of the things that I'd
like to do is capture some ofthat terroir, and the only way
that we're going to capture someof that terroir, or at least
the nuances of the environment,the effects of the environment
on the ingredients of Hawaii, isto get some actual ingredients
from Hawaii to be able to use inthe competition itself, which I
(09:08):
am, you know, hopefully goingto be able to do.
There are a number ofingredients that the Department
of Agriculture in Hawaii hasactually deemed impossible or
illegal to take out of Hawaiiand ship over, but I'm looking
for ways to sort of get aroundthat.
What are some of those items?
So, things like Hawaiian lehuataro, so like real, actual taro
(09:31):
that the Hawaiian taro used formaking poi and other things like
hulolo and other taropreparations Without actually
Department of Ag inspection andcertification, you can't ship
them out nor take them out ofHawaii.
Pooch Rivera (09:47):
Is that because they touched down in california
first?
Chef Lance Nitahara (09:50):
I.
I don't exactly know why thethat rule is in place.
I have a feeling that it'sbecause they want to keep those
crops exclusive to hawaii andthey don't want people
propagating them outside ofhawaii.
Partly that.
And then also invasive species,so maybe some pests you know
pest transfer in between hawaiiand the mainland.
So so I'm looking to sort ofget around that with certain
(10:13):
ingredients.
I think I may be able to talkto the the authorities there
once I because I am going for abusiness visit in a in a couple,
in a few weeks, so that I'll beable to maybe possibly get
something going.
Carl Fiadini (10:28):
What was the culture shock?
To go from small town Hawaii tothe CIA?
Chef Lance Nitahara (10:34):
I think the biggest culture shock was was
the weather In Hawaii.
It's one season, you got oneseason, all year round Coldest.
Coldest it gets is maybe low60s, high 50s in some places.
So you know, coming here rightnow, you know it's, you know in
the low 40s, and so you knowthat that took a little bit of
(10:57):
getting used to.
Although I do enjoy winter, youknow I do I just don't like
shoveling my driveway after,after a longer winter nobody
likes it.
Pooch Rivera (11:07):
Yeah, yeah chef, how would you describe how you
you apply your mentoring, yourteaching philosophy to culinary
competition?
Chef Lance Nitahara (11:15):
I do coach, when I, when I do coach
culinary competition, one of thethings that we focus on is the
method of, of practice, and sowhen I talk, talk about best
methods of practice, we want topractice exactly the way that
we're going to compete right?
So I mean, I guess the term is,you know, when they say
practice makes perfect, reallyperfect, practice makes perfect.
(11:38):
And so you know, cuttingcorners when it comes to
practicing with my competitorsreally doesn't get us anywhere,
because all it does is handicapus in the end.
So what we do is we want to setourselves up, set up the
kitchen, as close to competitionas possible, and our timeframes
(11:59):
are exactly, you know, the sametimeframes that we're going to
be competing in.
I get it, I, you know, we, we,we try to get it down to the
absolute minute detail, which iswhy Nick and Polly Barrington
at the US County Open I thinkthey're they're, they're sick of
my emails already, because I'vebeen, you know, I email them
(12:20):
probably three or four times aweek with all these little tiny
minutia, details.
But this is, this is how youknow, this is how we roll when
it comes to practice, so that weare absolutely ready and that
you know we can plan forcontingencies and we can plan
for things that can go wrong.
If anything can go wrong, wewill plan for it to happen.
You know, to the point whereyou know we've got little mini
(12:42):
first aid kits in our pocket,you know if we would cut
ourselves so we can, you know,take care of it right, then and
there, instead of searching fora first aid kit.
Carl Fiadini (12:49):
If anyone missed it, the secret is preparing, but
preparing perfectly, and you'reputting a lot of time into this
.
How often are you and yourassistant actually practicing?
Chef Lance Nitahara (13:06):
So we have been practicing once a week for
the past, I believe almost threemonths.
Now two or three months and soand those are five to five to
six hour practices.
We're going to transition totwice a week after this, after
the break.
Carl Fiadini (13:22):
Yeah, yeah, that's serious and and I think it's
really, it's funny, but greatthat you're stalking the
competition, by the way, justwell no, your competition.
Pooch Rivera (13:34):
But that's serious you're, you're a competitor.
Carl Fiadini (13:36):
Man, you're a competitor man, I appreciate it.
Chef Lance Nitahara (13:39):
Yeah, yeah, no.
So I I've I've had to sort of,you know, pull back from that
because again it it does playwith my mind for a little bit,
but I think it's more importantwhen you're a competitor, what's
more important is to stop thejudges to know what the judges
are like.
You know what kind of culinaryworld are they coming out of.
And you know three of the fourjudges are all they're CMCs.
Carl Fiadini (14:03):
They're master chefs.
Like that's got to be morepressure than the competitors.
Chef Lance Nitahara (14:06):
Sure, absolutely.
And I've worked with and, beingat the CIA, I've worked with a
bunch of master chefs.
They're people too, but when itcomes to competition they're a
different breed.
Carl Fiadini (14:18):
Are you trying to say that they bleed?
Come on man, they don't.
Pooch Rivera (14:22):
What I've found from certified master chefs is
that they like to stand on thetraditions, and so that
sometimes, in my opinion, from aculinary world, makes it a
little bit easier, because youcan kind of go traditional and
use traditional sauces,traditional things that they
would pick up on, but at the endof the day, look, this is a big
deal, it's the first one.
It's the big deal, it's thefirst one.
(14:43):
So I mean, I think thateveryone's coming correct,
whether it be the competitors tothe judges, to the whole city.
The whole culinary scene inAtlanta is ready for this, which
is pretty cool.
Carl Fiadini (14:57):
I think it's going to have a lot of fanfare behind
it and a lot of people there tocheer you on, cheer everyone
else on and really make this abig event.
I think what's fascinating ishow, chef, how you're balancing
traditional methods and moderntechniques between French and
Hawaiian cuisines.
I think that is a story in andof itself, because you've
figured out a way to implement,you know, some Hawaiian culinary
(15:19):
into your program.
Chef Lance Nitahara (15:20):
Yes, so the Hawaiian class that I teach it
has a mix of both traditionalHawaiian foods and, I guess,
local Hawaiian, modern, localHawaiian foods, which really are
an amalgam of all the differentcultures that have sort of
found their way to Hawaii, andHawaii really is truly a melting
(15:41):
pot, right?
So you have these two differenteras.
You have the ancient Hawaiianera, which you know.
They came over on canoes andthey basically brought over, you
know, a handful of crops andyou know, and pigs and chickens,
and really that's really whatthey had, besides the coconuts
and fish that were already onthe island.
So that was, that's yourancient Hawaiian cuisine, which
(16:03):
is very simple, very just,straightforward, simple cuisine,
not too many cooking techniques.
But then, you know, then youfast forward to later with all
these cultures coming to Hawaiiand you have, you know,
immigrants from all over theworld coming and bringing their
cultures in and all of a sudden,local Hawaiian cuisine is
(16:24):
something totally different in,and all of a sudden, local
Hawaiian cuisine is somethingtotally different.
But the ingredients that grow inHawaii I mean, there are a vast
amount of ingredients, but thereal locally sourced ingredients
that and many of them are canoecrops from ancient Hawaii do
work well with a modern, evenFrench, technique.
(16:46):
So we try to put some of thatin there.
But in my menu for the USCulinary Open I have, you know,
preparations like I'm usingbreadfruit and I'm taking
breadfruit and making a gratinor a dauphinois with it, and so
breadfruit works very similarlyto potatoes, and so potato dau
dolphin, raw, obviously is aclassic French technique, but it
(17:09):
works beautifully withbreakfast.
Pooch Rivera (17:11):
I did a one-year apprenticeship, acf, back in the
day 94.
And I was always told and I hadambitions to go to CIA or do
the Disney program and it waskind of coerced into going into
the ACF program and doing aone-year apprenticeship, which I
very much appreciate.
Now, what are the biggestchallenges that culinary
students face these days?
Chef Lance Nitahara (17:32):
I think that when it comes to doing an
apprenticeship, versus getting adegree in an accredited program
like the CIA, because there areothers out there.
I think the main difference isthe understanding of possibly
food science and what's going onon a molecular or scientific
(17:55):
level when it comes to your food.
That, to me, that's, in myopinion, I think, the biggest
advantage of having a degree, orat least a degree from the CIA
and coming into my class,because I employ a lot of food
science in there.
But then beyond that, you knowyou now also have, I guess, a
career ceiling, if that makesany sense, where you know you
(18:19):
can start off at a certain afteryou graduate from the CIA or
from other culinary schools.
You can start off at a certain,I guess, level in the kitchen,
where we talk about being eithera, you know chef de partie or
chef de cuisine, instead ofstarting off in prep and work
(18:39):
your way up from there.
Or you also can, you know,branch off to these other you
know, these other facets of thefood service industry, or really
food or the gastronomy industryin general research and
development, food systems, eveninstitutional cuisine.
I think that the way that thingsare going now, like especially
(19:02):
with the CIA.
We're considered the I guess theterm now is the world's premier
food college, and so we'relooking at degree, or looking at
the CIA, more as a college oruniversity type of education
rather than just a culinaryschool these days.
So we have, you know, fivedifferent, you know, culinary
(19:23):
majors now, and we just starteda master's program at the CIA,
whereas before, you know, youcould get an associate's degree
and then, you know, when Igraduated, there was one
bachelor's degree available andI got that bachelor's degree in
culinary management.
Now, you know, we have foodscience, we've got, you know,
food systems and a number ofother, even specializations.
(19:45):
The apprenticeships, though,although I do also and I'm also
an advocate of apprenticeshipsand even vocational school
programs, simply because thereare some people who are not
necessarily cut out for anacademic-based culinary school.
Going into those programs, youknow, you get real-world
(20:08):
experience, dirt under yournails and elbow grease, dirt
under your nails and elbowgrease and it's something that's
an invaluable thing for youngpeople to really, you know, form
their chops before they, youknow, before they get out there
and really, you know, starttheir careers.
So I think that I think bothhave their pros and cons.
Carl Fiadini (20:30):
And it really is an interesting topic.
I feel like maybe after theshow into 25 chef, we can have
you back on for a longer sessionand get into this a little bit
further, cause I do want to getin.
We don't have time today, but Iwant to get into your a little
bit of your actual history inthe kitchen.
But let's, let's.
Let's say that we're going tocatch up at NAFM, and you know
(20:50):
we're going to catch up at NAFM,yeah, and you know we're going
to have the whole crew there,video, the podcast, the whole
nine yards, so we'll get into it.
Chef Lance Nitahara (21:01):
How do people find you on the socials?
So that's funny because I'vekind of stayed off of the social
media.
I'm kind of a ghost out there.
I do have a LinkedIn account,but that's pretty much it.
You can find me on the CIAwebsite.
I do have my email addressthere, but that's about it.
I try to stay off of socialmedia as much as possible.
Carl Fiadini (21:22):
I can't blame you for that.
In many instances.
All right, chef Lance Nidahara.
You can find him on LinkedInand I really appreciate you
coming on the show today, chef.
Happy holidays, chef Poo.
I really appreciate you comingon the show today, chef.
Happy holidays, chef Pooch.
Appreciate you coming in.
Thank you, sir.
Glad you came in for this.
John, as always, you're, you'reamazing.
Check out that Aussie selectguys.
We appreciate you.
Thank you, we are out.
(21:44):
We'll see you next time.
Hello food fam.
This is the Walk-In TalkPodcast where you will find the
perfect blend of food fun andcooking knowledge.
I'm Carl Fiadini your host,.
Welcome to the number one foodpodcast in the country.
We're recording on site at IbisImages Studios, where food
photography comes alive and Iget to eat it.
Chefs and food buyers.
Try Aussie Select's fullycooked, pasture-raised
(00:24):
Australian lamb.
Enjoy flavors like agave,rosemary, tikka masala and more,
available sliced or whole.
Discover more ataussieselectcom.
This week we have the talentedchef Lance Nitahara joining us
and, trust me, you won't want tomiss this.
He hails from the stunningshores of Oahu, hawaii.
Chef Lance has a culinaryjourney that spans across the
(00:47):
globe.
He's taken his roots from theislands, blending them with rich
culinary traditions learned atthe Culinary Institute of
America.
That's the CIA baby.
It's fascinating how henavigates the world of flavors
and today he's here to sharethat experience with us.
But that's not all.
But wait, there's more.
Chef Lance isn't just anincredible chef.
(01:08):
He's also an educator, shapingthe next generation of culinary
talent.
He's been recognized for hisoutstanding contributions to
culinary competitions, coachingstudents to national victories
With his unique perspective asan instructor and competitor.
He'll well, we're going to divedeep into that, and what that
means is he's going to bring theBig Island flavors to a global
(01:30):
audience.
That's basically what it means.
I tell you what today, in-house, we have the Pooch Rivera,
hello, hello.
Yes, my man, how you know likeit's.
I mean, this was whirlwind, youknow, came in late last night,
as it always is.
Pooch Rivera (01:48):
Yeah, You're here While the French Quarter burns
as we speak.
Guys, there's a big fire in theFrench Quarter, so shout out to
everybody in New Orleans andthat whole culinary scene down
there.
It's kind of crazy.
Yeah Well so, everybody, if youdon't know Chef Pooch, he's
(02:08):
from Louisiana, from New Orleans, and yeah, you just got word
over there on the the RoyalSinesta Hotel, which is right
across the street fromRestaurant Revolution.
Yeah, it's just kind of crazy.
Chef Lance Nitahara (02:12):
That's a big property, that's a big deal.
Pooch Rivera (02:14):
With the Super Bowl and such coming, so it's
kind of crazy.
Carl Fiadini (02:18):
All right.
So today you made some really,really pretty dishes.
Let's talk about it Go.
Pooch Rivera (02:23):
Well, we use Aussie Select, which is a proud
sponsor of ours, and I wasalways wondering how I could do
something with Aussie Select,being that you know it is a
cured meat.
So we decided we were going todo play on a Reuben we did kind
of an Asian flair Reuben inhonor of Chef Lance coming on
the show and so we did a littleginger marinade, inix law and
carrots.
We se a little ginger marinadein ixlaw and carrots.
(02:44):
We seared off the the lambwhich was it was a prime rib,
it's lamb prime rib which waskind of unique to use.
Never really thought of usingthat as a prime rib, but it was
really cool seared that off with, obviously with the help of
john, we plated that up and madeit look beautiful I can't do
anything without john these days, guys.
That's the truth and it wasdelicious.
So we did that.
And then we transitioned intofajitas.
So so we know we've been sayingwe need to do fajitas so many
(03:07):
times and we never really figureout how to do it and I was like
let's use the Aussie Select andlet's use the prime rib to see
how that worked out beautifully.
You know, I was a littleworried that we wouldn't get a
lot of that flavor, of theMexican flavor, in there and it
really transitioned in well.
It tasted so good with all theroasted vegetables, all the
above.
But Aussie Select, guys, issomething that any it's your
chef's best friend, you know itcuts out a lot of corners and a
(03:28):
lot of you know back in the dayyou wouldn't want to buy
something that was alreadypre-cooked or pre-made.
These they're made for chefs,so it's out there.
It's the best product you canbuy and reasonably priced $12 to
$15 a.
Carl Fiadini (03:40):
that would have stayed, guys I know that jack
jacklin's gonna be super, superhappy.
All right, without further ado.
I mean.
By the way, listen, beautiful,beautiful stuff you made today
tastes good too.
Johnny, you gotta give all thecredit to the food stylist.
Johnny, I mean seriously, comeon all right, without further
ado.
Chef lance, how are you?
Chef Lance Nitahara (04:00):
sir, I'm doing.
Great thanks for having me on.
Carl Fiadini (04:04):
I am so excited about meeting you in person the
US Culinary Open in Februaryover at the NAFM show in Atlanta
.
Me too, I want to start withyour prodigy, because we had a
phone call the other day, afairly long call, about an hour,
and you were really hyped up onthis kid.
Talk about him.
Chef Lance Nitahara (04:24):
His name is Sechan Park.
He hails from South Korea.
He's a student at the CIA,where I teach, and he was never
my student.
However, he was my competitorthat I coached for this past
year's SkillsUSA competitionthat was held also in Atlanta
and the same convention centerwe're doing the US Culinary Open
(04:46):
at.
I mean, this kid is amazing.
The reason why I chose him tobe my assistant was his mindset
is just so focused and drivenwhen it comes to culinary
competition.
He's a machine.
He really is.
He's got a lot of experiencealready.
He represented South Korea inWorldSkills the WorldSkills
(05:07):
competition, internationalcompetition beautiful food
coming from this kid.
He you know, I say kid, he's 19years old and he is just
amazing.
When we work, when we worktogether and we practice
together, he's he's literallycooking circles around me.
I am the privileged one to havehim at my side.
Carl Fiadini (05:26):
That kind of leads into this competition.
You're up against some heavyhitters, beard Chefs and
Michelin Chefs and Food Networkwinners and whatnot.
How does having the right souschef, in this case your
assistant how does that fare foryou with your nerves going into
(05:46):
this competition?
Chef Lance Nitahara (05:47):
I've been thinking about that for a while.
With Seitan, having him as myassistant for me, I can sleep
better at night because I knowthat I have, you know, one of
the best young people out thereyoung chefs out to help me with
this.
It's kind of like when I was inculinary school, I was actually
the assistant for the certifiedmaster chef exam.
I feel like, you know, I gaveit the best go that I could give
(06:10):
, although I was not nearly astalented as Sechan is, but I
feel better having him on myside During practice.
He's saved our food more timesthan I have.
My confidence level hasincreased by, you know, 20 fold
having him as my, as myassistant.
But looking at the competition Iknow, on on the, on the website
(06:32):
we can, we can see who ourcompetitors are and I kind of,
you know, sort of looked intotheir backgrounds and looked at
them.
It would make anyone nervous,obviously, because there's a.
You know there are people thatI'm competing against that you
know I I could only dream tohave the kind of experiences
that they've had, the kind ofchops that they have.
So for me, the more I look atit, the more I guess nervous I
(06:58):
could get and the more uneasy Icould get and the more you know
pressure that builds upon me.
So I've decided to go the otherroute and just not really worry
about that at all, if thatmakes any sense.
Carl Fiadini (07:12):
It makes a lot of sense and I know that because of
your culinary background fromwhere you're from in Hawaii,
that's probably going to findits way into what you're doing
there.
Are you able to talk about thata little bit?
Chef Lance Nitahara (07:27):
The theme of my menu really is the flavors
of my childhood, or at leastthe flavors of Hawaii, sort of
encapsulated into three moderntakes on, not necessarily
singular Hawaiian dishes, butpreparations, Hawaiian
preparations utilizing someHawaiian ingredients that we've,
(07:50):
we're going to be able toprocure and bring to the
competition ourselves, but alsotechniques.
Carl Fiadini (07:56):
So when I do taste these flavors it does bring me
back to my, to the flavors thatI remember in my childhood for
the record, uh, listeners whohave not been to hawaii yet in
their lives when you get off theplane there and chef, we talked
about this the other day onceyou, when you get off the plane,
the first thing it's a smallairport, it's outside.
(08:16):
You step off and the firstthing you realize everything
smells like flowers.
It's just, it's it's in the airand it's amazing because you've
you, you realize that it'sparadise and you're in it and
it's beautiful.
And if you can capture justthat and and and have that in
your in your dish, chef, I feellike that is going to.
(08:41):
I mean, it's a winner.
I'm just saying yeah.
Chef Lance Nitahara (08:46):
I think, well, one of the things that I'd
like to do is capture some ofthat terroir, and the only way
that we're going to capture someof that terroir, or at least
the nuances of the environment,the effects of the environment
on the ingredients of Hawaii, isto get some actual ingredients
from Hawaii to be able to use inthe competition itself, which I
(09:08):
am, you know, hopefully goingto be able to do.
There are a number ofingredients that the Department
of Agriculture in Hawaii hasactually deemed impossible or
illegal to take out of Hawaiiand ship over, but I'm looking
for ways to sort of get aroundthat.
What are some of those items?
So, things like Hawaiian lehuataro, so like real, actual taro
(09:31):
that the Hawaiian taro used formaking poi and other things like
hulolo and other taropreparations Without actually
Department of Ag inspection andcertification, you can't ship
them out nor take them out ofHawaii.
Pooch Rivera (09:47):
Is that because they touched down in california
first?
Chef Lance Nitahara (09:50):
I.
I don't exactly know why thethat rule is in place.
I have a feeling that it'sbecause they want to keep those
crops exclusive to hawaii andthey don't want people
propagating them outside ofhawaii.
Partly that.
And then also invasive species,so maybe some pests you know
pest transfer in between hawaiiand the mainland.
So so I'm looking to sort ofget around that with certain
(10:13):
ingredients.
I think I may be able to talkto the the authorities there
once I because I am going for abusiness visit in a in a couple,
in a few weeks, so that I'll beable to maybe possibly get
something going.
Carl Fiadini (10:28):
What was the culture shock?
To go from small town Hawaii tothe CIA?
Chef Lance Nitahara (10:34):
I think the biggest culture shock was was
the weather In Hawaii.
It's one season, you got oneseason, all year round Coldest.
Coldest it gets is maybe low60s, high 50s in some places.
So you know, coming here rightnow, you know it's, you know in
the low 40s, and so you knowthat that took a little bit of
(10:57):
getting used to.
Although I do enjoy winter, youknow I do I just don't like
shoveling my driveway after,after a longer winter nobody
likes it.
Pooch Rivera (11:07):
Yeah, yeah chef, how would you describe how you
you apply your mentoring, yourteaching philosophy to culinary
competition?
Chef Lance Nitahara (11:15):
I do coach, when I, when I do coach
culinary competition, one of thethings that we focus on is the
method of, of practice, and sowhen I talk, talk about best
methods of practice, we want topractice exactly the way that
we're going to compete right?
So I mean, I guess the term is,you know, when they say
practice makes perfect, reallyperfect, practice makes perfect.
(11:38):
And so you know, cuttingcorners when it comes to
practicing with my competitorsreally doesn't get us anywhere,
because all it does is handicapus in the end.
So what we do is we want to setourselves up, set up the
kitchen, as close to competitionas possible, and our timeframes
(11:59):
are exactly, you know, the sametimeframes that we're going to
be competing in.
I get it, I, you know, we, we,we try to get it down to the
absolute minute detail, which iswhy Nick and Polly Barrington
at the US County Open I thinkthey're they're, they're sick of
my emails already, because I'vebeen, you know, I email them
(12:20):
probably three or four times aweek with all these little tiny
minutia, details.
But this is, this is how youknow, this is how we roll when
it comes to practice, so that weare absolutely ready and that
you know we can plan forcontingencies and we can plan
for things that can go wrong.
If anything can go wrong, wewill plan for it to happen.
You know, to the point whereyou know we've got little mini
(12:42):
first aid kits in our pocket,you know if we would cut
ourselves so we can, you know,take care of it right, then and
there, instead of searching fora first aid kit.
Carl Fiadini (12:49):
If anyone missed it, the secret is preparing, but
preparing perfectly, and you'reputting a lot of time into this
.
How often are you and yourassistant actually practicing?
Chef Lance Nitahara (13:06):
So we have been practicing once a week for
the past, I believe almost threemonths.
Now two or three months and soand those are five to five to
six hour practices.
We're going to transition totwice a week after this, after
the break.
Carl Fiadini (13:22):
Yeah, yeah, that's serious and and I think it's
really, it's funny, but greatthat you're stalking the
competition, by the way, justwell no, your competition.
Pooch Rivera (13:34):
But that's serious you're, you're a competitor.
Carl Fiadini (13:36):
Man, you're a competitor man, I appreciate it.
Chef Lance Nitahara (13:39):
Yeah, yeah, no.
So I I've I've had to sort of,you know, pull back from that
because again it it does playwith my mind for a little bit,
but I think it's more importantwhen you're a competitor, what's
more important is to stop thejudges to know what the judges
are like.
You know what kind of culinaryworld are they coming out of.
And you know three of the fourjudges are all they're CMCs.
Carl Fiadini (14:03):
They're master chefs.
Like that's got to be morepressure than the competitors.
Chef Lance Nitahara (14:06):
Sure, absolutely.
And I've worked with and, beingat the CIA, I've worked with a
bunch of master chefs.
They're people too, but when itcomes to competition they're a
different breed.
Carl Fiadini (14:18):
Are you trying to say that they bleed?
Come on man, they don't.
Pooch Rivera (14:22):
What I've found from certified master chefs is
that they like to stand on thetraditions, and so that
sometimes, in my opinion, from aculinary world, makes it a
little bit easier, because youcan kind of go traditional and
use traditional sauces,traditional things that they
would pick up on, but at the endof the day, look, this is a big
deal, it's the first one.
It's the big deal, it's thefirst one.
(14:43):
So I mean, I think thateveryone's coming correct,
whether it be the competitors tothe judges, to the whole city.
The whole culinary scene inAtlanta is ready for this, which
is pretty cool.
Carl Fiadini (14:57):
I think it's going to have a lot of fanfare behind
it and a lot of people there tocheer you on, cheer everyone
else on and really make this abig event.
I think what's fascinating ishow, chef, how you're balancing
traditional methods and moderntechniques between French and
Hawaiian cuisines.
I think that is a story in andof itself, because you've
figured out a way to implement,you know, some Hawaiian culinary
(15:19):
into your program.
Chef Lance Nitahara (15:20):
Yes, so the Hawaiian class that I teach it
has a mix of both traditionalHawaiian foods and, I guess,
local Hawaiian, modern, localHawaiian foods, which really are
an amalgam of all the differentcultures that have sort of
found their way to Hawaii, andHawaii really is truly a melting
(15:41):
pot, right?
So you have these two differenteras.
You have the ancient Hawaiianera, which you know.
They came over on canoes andthey basically brought over, you
know, a handful of crops andyou know, and pigs and chickens,
and really that's really whatthey had, besides the coconuts
and fish that were already onthe island.
So that was, that's yourancient Hawaiian cuisine, which
(16:03):
is very simple, very just,straightforward, simple cuisine,
not too many cooking techniques.
But then, you know, then youfast forward to later with all
these cultures coming to Hawaiiand you have, you know,
immigrants from all over theworld coming and bringing their
cultures in and all of a sudden,local Hawaiian cuisine is
(16:24):
something totally different in,and all of a sudden, local
Hawaiian cuisine is somethingtotally different.
But the ingredients that grow inHawaii I mean, there are a vast
amount of ingredients, but thereal locally sourced ingredients
that and many of them are canoecrops from ancient Hawaii do
work well with a modern, evenFrench, technique.
(16:46):
So we try to put some of thatin there.
But in my menu for the USCulinary Open I have, you know,
preparations like I'm usingbreadfruit and I'm taking
breadfruit and making a gratinor a dauphinois with it, and so
breadfruit works very similarlyto potatoes, and so potato dau
dolphin, raw, obviously is aclassic French technique, but it
(17:09):
works beautifully withbreakfast.
Pooch Rivera (17:11):
I did a one-year apprenticeship, acf, back in the
day 94.
And I was always told and I hadambitions to go to CIA or do
the Disney program and it waskind of coerced into going into
the ACF program and doing aone-year apprenticeship, which I
very much appreciate.
Now, what are the biggestchallenges that culinary
students face these days?
Chef Lance Nitahara (17:32):
I think that when it comes to doing an
apprenticeship, versus getting adegree in an accredited program
like the CIA, because there areothers out there.
I think the main difference isthe understanding of possibly
food science and what's going onon a molecular or scientific
(17:55):
level when it comes to your food.
That, to me, that's, in myopinion, I think, the biggest
advantage of having a degree, orat least a degree from the CIA
and coming into my class,because I employ a lot of food
science in there.
But then beyond that, you knowyou now also have, I guess, a
career ceiling, if that makesany sense, where you know you
(18:19):
can start off at a certain afteryou graduate from the CIA or
from other culinary schools.
You can start off at a certain,I guess, level in the kitchen,
where we talk about being eithera, you know chef de partie or
chef de cuisine, instead ofstarting off in prep and work
(18:39):
your way up from there.
Or you also can, you know,branch off to these other you
know, these other facets of thefood service industry, or really
food or the gastronomy industryin general research and
development, food systems, eveninstitutional cuisine.
I think that the way that thingsare going now, like especially
(19:02):
with the CIA.
We're considered the I guess theterm now is the world's premier
food college, and so we'relooking at degree, or looking at
the CIA, more as a college oruniversity type of education
rather than just a culinaryschool these days.
So we have, you know, fivedifferent, you know, culinary
(19:23):
majors now, and we just starteda master's program at the CIA,
whereas before, you know, youcould get an associate's degree
and then, you know, when Igraduated, there was one
bachelor's degree available andI got that bachelor's degree in
culinary management.
Now, you know, we have foodscience, we've got, you know,
food systems and a number ofother, even specializations.
(19:45):
The apprenticeships, though,although I do also and I'm also
an advocate of apprenticeshipsand even vocational school
programs, simply because thereare some people who are not
necessarily cut out for anacademic-based culinary school.
Going into those programs, youknow, you get real-world
(20:08):
experience, dirt under yournails and elbow grease, dirt
under your nails and elbowgrease and it's something that's
an invaluable thing for youngpeople to really, you know, form
their chops before they, youknow, before they get out there
and really, you know, starttheir careers.
So I think that I think bothhave their pros and cons.
Carl Fiadini (20:30):
And it really is an interesting topic.
I feel like maybe after theshow into 25 chef, we can have
you back on for a longer sessionand get into this a little bit
further, cause I do want to getin.
We don't have time today, but Iwant to get into your a little
bit of your actual history inthe kitchen.
But let's, let's.
Let's say that we're going tocatch up at NAFM, and you know
(20:50):
we're going to catch up at NAFM,yeah, and you know we're going
to have the whole crew there,video, the podcast, the whole
nine yards, so we'll get into it.
Chef Lance Nitahara (21:01):
How do people find you on the socials?
So that's funny because I'vekind of stayed off of the social
media.
I'm kind of a ghost out there.
I do have a LinkedIn account,but that's pretty much it.
You can find me on the CIAwebsite.
I do have my email addressthere, but that's about it.
I try to stay off of socialmedia as much as possible.
Carl Fiadini (21:22):
I can't blame you for that.
In many instances.
All right, chef Lance Nidahara.
You can find him on LinkedInand I really appreciate you
coming on the show today, chef.
Happy holidays, chef Poo.
I really appreciate you comingon the show today, chef.
Happy holidays, chef Pooch.
Appreciate you coming in.
Thank you, sir.
Glad you came in for this.
John, as always, you're, you'reamazing.
Check out that Aussie selectguys.
We appreciate you.
Thank you, we are out.
(21:44):
We'll see you next time.
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