Chef Biography
Gordon Hopkins was born and raised in Oahu, Hawaii and following school, moved to the mainland to pursue his culinary ambitions. He honed his craft over the next 18 years in French kitchens in Chicago, New York and New Orleans before returning to his homeland, bringing Euro-Asian Cuisine with him, first as executive chef of Michel’s at Colony Surf and later in 1987, at the ill-fated Dolly Parton’s Dockside Plantation.
When Roy Yamaguchi returned from Los Angeles to open his flagship Roy’s in Hawaii Kai in 1988, Gordon Hopkins was brought in as chef/partner and later as corporate chef/partner. In late 1994, the Great Chefs crew showed up at Roy’s flagship restaurant to tape Chef Hopkins for the Discovery Channel’s Great Chefs of Hawaii television series. By that time, Chefs Hopkins and Yamaguchi had five restaurants, three in the islands, and one each in Guam and Tokyo, in partnership with the Outback Restaurant Group.
Since that time, Roy’s has expanded to many more restaurants around the world, his latest being Roy’s Beach House at Turtle Bay Resort in Kahuku which opened this month (August 2016), with Chef Gordon Hopkins overseeing the kitchen. And as both chefs like to say, “it’s the first Roy’s on the beach and the first with take-out capabilities”.
Recipes
Grilled Kajiki and Okinawan Sweet Potatoes with Peppercorn-Wasabi Vinaigrette
Serving: 4 Print Grilled Kajiki and Okinawan Sweet Potatoes with Peppercorn-Wasabi Vinaigrette By Great Chefs September 24, 2015 Purple sweet potatoes make a colorful base for a tower of grilled fish and greens spiked with a spicy wasabi-based vinaigrette sauce. Nalo fern greens are suggested; the curled fern fiddleheads are very tender. This very “New […]