Chef Biography
In 1995, Mark Okumura was working as pastry chef of the Halekulani Hotel on Waikiki Beach in Honolulu. But the year before, the Great Chefs television team had a discussion with Great Chef Alan Wong at Le Soleil in the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel while taping him there, about the pastry chef he wanted for his new restaurant. That pastry chef was Mark Okumura.
Fast forward two years, and in 1996, Great Chefs returned to Honolulu to tape Pastry Chef Mark Okumura at the new Alan Wong’s Restaurant, for the final stages of their Great Chefs of Hawaii television series. Chef Okumura prepared five Chinese spoons of Crème Brulée for the eleventh episode of the series.
He left Alan Wong’s in 2007 to open Stage, with two other Alan Wong alums. He then consulted for Whole Foods Market; Edsung Food Service (who supplies hotels and restaurants with baked goods); The Cake Connection, and Cookspace Hawaii. Now, in 2016, he is the banquet pastry chef and instructor for the Culinary Arts Program at Kapiolani Community College in Honolulu.
Recipes
Five Spoons of Creme Brulee
Serving: 8 Print Five Spoons of Creme Brulee By Great Chefs September 22, 2015 The aromatic flavorings of each kind of brulee must infuse in the cream, so each combination is brought to a very slow simmer before being added separately to egg yolks and sugar. The reward is five exotic flavors and a stunning […]