Chef Biography
Katsuo Sugiura was born in Japan in 1953 and raised in Tokyo. He became interested in food at an early age and by the time he was a teenager, had developed a keen interest in traveling outside the country. In 1970 he received training in French cuisine in Yokohama before traveling the next few years cooking in Finland, Norway, Germany, France and the UK.
In 1975 he was invited by the French Restaurant Association to study in New York City. He wanted to observe how French food was prepared outside of France, with a goal in mind to return to Japan and open a French restaurant. He apprenticed throughout the United States, from Chicago to Beverly Hills, Nashville, Miami and then ended up in New Jersey as Culinary Director of Donald Trump’s Taj Mahal Casino Resort in Atlantic City.
In 1993, Chef Suki moved to Honolulu to open the Ihilani Resort & Spa where Great Chefs caught up with him in 1996, to tape for their Great Chefs of Hawaii television series.
The following year in 1997, he left for the Beverly Hills Hotel where he stayed until 2004, when it became the Beverly Hilton. In 2007, he left briefly to open the Taj Boston as executive chef, but quickly returned to the Beverly Hilton where he remains today in 2015, producing for the Grammys and the Oscars.
Recipes
Black Sesame Nougatines with Green Tea Mousse and Glazed Chestnuts
Serving: 4 Print Black Sesame Nougatines with Green Tea Mousse and Glazed Chestnuts By Great Chefs September 23, 2015 These napoleonlike desserts blend the Asian tastes of black sesame seeds and green tea with the old-world flavor of caramelized chestnuts. Star fruit lends a tropical look and taste, although other fruit could be used. Ingredients […]