MARRIOTT BUZZ NO. 16 - 2019

13 12 I N T E R V I EW SPOTLIGHT ON TORI I ’S NEW CHEF H ailing from the Philippines, new chef of Torii Japanese-fusion restaurant, 35 year old John Libanan, has reimagined the menu in a style that he says owes much to his Asian heritage, diverse experience, and extensive tutelage under several Japense master chefs who trained him in the art of authentic Japanese cuisine. “I started as a commis, first in a street kitchen, then I got promoted again and again with the help of learning under esteemed Japanese master chefs. I have been in Egypt for almost 3 years, I worked at another hotel before here, but I have also worked in Lebanon and Dubai as well because I am always eager to get more experience and learn new things,” he says. Chef John began in 2009 as a chef, because “cooking was my passion I started when I was a boy just making my family’s lunch and dinner back in the Philippines,” he recounts. In the previous hotel where I worked I was also preparing Japanese food, Japanese cuisine is my specialty because I worked with four Japanese chefs in Philippines before, so I have been trained in the methods of that cuisine, but there are different styles of Japanese cuisines,” he explains. “My first master chef taught me in the Edo style, which originated in Tokyo and is the most typical sushi style, it is different from other regional sushi preparation in Japan for example,” he says. Torii’s new chef is also well versed in teppanyaki and various other Japanese foods besides sushi. “Torii is an Asian-fusion restaurant, most Asian cuisines share the same ingredients, and so this makes things easier for me to prepare the best dishes possible,” he added. John says that things like ginger, lemongrass, coconut milk, are common across all Asian cuisines, so it makes it sensible to do, as opposed to operating an authentic Japanese restaurant, and they are these days readily available in Egypt due to the popularity of Asian cuisine amongst Egyptians and the number of Asian restaurants now operating. In addition to this condition, chef John seeks to account for local tastes, and has crafted a delectable new menu that caters to the cultural specifics of the country and region. The restaurant’s kitchen team consists of 6 chefs and seats between 50 to 60 guests. Chef John in collaboration with sous chef, Hussein, who is in charge of the teppanyaki dishes, conceived this new Torii menu. But for the incoming chef, “the most important thing in Japanese cuisine is to serve the dish extremely fresh and you must eat it on the spot and with maximum freshness,” this he says will be his primary goal as Torii moves to implement this menu in the near future. The main challenge he faces according to him is the essential need to constantly cater to and adjust for the local taste palettes of the guests in Egypt, the Arab world and Middle East. However, this inevitably complicates his job somewhat as it means he must do without essential ingredients yet still ensure his dishes look and taste as authentic as possible. “It is hard because we don’t use Mirin and Sake (alcoholic solutions) because of cultural reasons, but these are some of the key ingredients in Japanese cuisine so we have to account for that and still make our dishes as fresh, delicious and authentic as possible,” he stresses. Sourcing of ingredients is the main challenge for chef John and his team in a region so far away from Asia, this is why he says, “we do Japanese-fusion because it is what we can most expertly prepare with the ingredients available to us. For example if you don’t use certain ingredients like galangal and use regular ginger, it becomes a different taste from the original. Chef John is aware that catering to local tastes is essential despite his formal training in authentic Japanese cuisine. “California rolls for example are American-style Japanese fusion, so we have to adjust to the local taste here as well, having things like cheese in our rolls is common in Egypt, where in Japan this is unheard of,” he says. He continues “I have been in authentic Japanese restaurants and worked under several Japanese chefs, they would laugh at the thought of putting cheese on sushi!” Before expressing that if Torii were to make authentic Japanese cuisine, they would not have too many guests, which is why there isn’t one authentic Japanese restaurant in Egypt. But Chef John, who has trained with the reputable Chefs Minoru Karaki, Yoichi Yoshimora and Koji Oki in Edo style and modern Japanese cuisine, is optimistic and does not see this as a hurdle that cannot be overcome. “These days there are a lot of Asian and Japanese restaurants here in Egypt, so this makes it easier to source ingredients as there are more Asian markets from which to get these essential ingredients from, when I first came here I can say that it was definitely harder.” “One of my signature dishes is a special sushi roll I created, with my own personal twist on a traditional one, which I learnt from my teachers in Japan,” he says. Chef John believes he is ready for the new challenge and the Torii team is confident on the impact their new menu will have on guests. “I love working at this hotel, because it is beautiful and the people around me are great, I get along so well with Egyptians and although I am the only foreigner among the Torii restaurant staff I feel very much welcomed.”