Eating behind the scenes

By Matthew Gray
Advertiser Staff Writer

It's a question we've all asked: Do those folks who work in restaurants get to eat restaurant food when their shifts span mealtimes? Or are they back there with a tuna sandwich in a brown bag?

Tony Gencarelli, a pastry cook at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, sips coffee in the employee dining room, called the "Village Cafe." It's a favorite of many of the Hilton property's 1,700 employees, who can get free meals there. Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser

When I worked as a chef in Los Angeles, I made sure to feed my kitchen staff anything they wanted — within reason. Our success as a business had a lot to do with employee job satisfaction.Every day I would assign the employee lunch-cooking assignment to one of my assistants. More often than not, it would be a treat heavily influenced by ingredients and flavors from Mexico, the former homeland of many of the kitchen staff. If one of the employees wanted an "expensive" menu item, let's say a New York steak, we'd give him or her a discounted price, somewhere in the 33 percent range.

The wait staff, on the other hand, were often nibbling and picking away at whatever food presented itself. Usually, they'd munch on items readily available to them, often bread, soup or salad fixings.Some even spirit away uneaten food from customer's plates after the table had been bussed, though many restaurants frown on this practice.

The challenge for the restaurateur is keeping employees happy while remaining cost-conscious, and teaching the staff to be the same. Many upscale kitchens employ expensive ingredients — lobster, caviar, filet mignon, imported cheeses, seasonal fruit and such, training the cooks to pay close attention to the cost per unit and avoid waste, while also teaching the serving staff to speak intelligently about these items, often offering them tasting sessions so that they can describe the food they're serving.Then, when employee mealtime comes, they're expected to leave the princely preparations behind.

The truth is that each business varies in its approach and policies regarding employee meals, as we learned when we asked at restaurants and hotels around O'ahu.

Alan Wong's restaurant manager Jay Sakai said employees there tend to sit down "around midnight, after the last patrons have left" for a group meal. Wong has usually departed by this time, but about 30 of the employees gather to enjoy whatever ingredients chef de cuisine Lance Osaka has approved for a meal to be prepared each night by a different cook.

"It's always something different," Sakai said."Last night we had lobster and black bean sauce, but usually it's something along the lines of adobo, lasagna or maybe something vegetarian, like pasta."

Fred Livingston, owner of a heap of restaurants including Sunset Grill, Matteo's, Crouching Lion, Davey Jones and Trattoria, said that at all of his eateries aside from Sunset Grill, it's chef's choice as to what the staff enjoys. At Sunset Grill, employees get a 25 percent discount off the menu.

Roy's Restaurant employees have their meal in a period they call "pre-service" — somewhere between 4 and 5 p.m. each day, according to restaurant manager Mike Webber. "The kitchen staff takes turns deciding what to make, but it's typically heavy on starch, a lot of pizzas, and stir-fry items." Webber says that the most interesting food appears when employees bring in something ethnic and unusual from home. "So here we are, about 30 of us, in a very, very informal setting. ... We'll have our meal, maybe open up a bottle of wine. ... Everyone basically getting a tiny sip, and then it's time to get to work."

The Outrigger and Ohana hotel chains take a different approach for their employees because most of their properties are lodging focused, not food service-oriented. Instead of preparing meals at the various properties, they contract with different caterers and restaurants to provide meals, varying the menu so no one gets bored. Director of public relations Jim Austin said the service costs about $1.2 million a year. "Our employee meal program began back in 1982. We love taking care of our staff; to them this means so much. We work with 24 different vendors who supply meals to us each day. We fax our orders every morning by 9:30 and know that our lunch will be taken care of,"he said.

The top three meal vendors are Fanny's Chinese Kitchen, Makiki Inn and Wiki Wiki Drive Inn. Eric Wong, the managing partner of Wiki Wiki, said that Outrigger lunch orders number between 100-200 per day.

"The employees choose from about 28 different menu items, with favorites including chicken katsu, shrimp fried rice, manapua, pork adobo, lau lau plates, anything on our menu that has an Asian flair, you know, all the great local favorites," he said.

L'Uraku general manager Duane T. Kawamoto is a big fan of the employee meal service at his restaurant. "Chef Hiroshi (Fukui) assigns a different individual to prepare the employee meal (each day)," he said. "He allots certain items (to be cooked) and turns 'em loose."The restaurant actually sees this task as a form of training: It builds creativity and imagination to prepare something for a wide range of people and tastes."Our staff eats after their shift ends, usually 2-3 in the afternoon for the lunch staff, and about 9:30-10:30 for our nighttime staff. It's a good bonding opportunity for them," he said.

Fukui said that when he was learning to cook, the goal of the employee meal was "to make something out of nothing, whether it was unused green onion tips or cabbage, or scraps of meat." Recently his staff has prepared dishes including steamed fish, curries, stews, and fried noodles.

Bernie Caalim-Polanzi, public relations director for Hilton Resorts Hawaii, spoke highly of the so-called "Village Cafe" as a favorite of the Hilton Hawaiian Village's 1,700 employees. No, it's not a new restaurant on the property; it's the employee dining room, which offers different hot menu items daily, as well as a standard menu of made-to-order foods (hamburgers and such), an elaborate salad bar and a different soup daily, all for free. Certain days are Chinese menu days, when the chefs from the hotel's Golden Dragon restaurant prepare special dishes; a menu is circulated daily so employees know what to expect.

Zippy's is the place we all go when we're looking for familiar local food fast and friendly. So what do Zippy's employees have for breakfast, lunch or dinner at those 24-hour establishments?

The same stuff we order, explained Zippy's spokeswoman Susan Natamoto: "(They) can eat anything from our menu as long as it stays within the meal allowance limit ($5.80 and a medium drink)."

Furikake Mahi Mahi a la Wiki Wiki

• 4-6 mahi mahi fillets
• 1 pound panko*
• 8 ounces furikake**
• Pinch of salt, monosodium glutamate, and white pepper to taste
• Cooking oil

Toss together panko, furikake and seasonings in a mixing bowl.  Lightly rinse fillets under cold water. Dredge each piece in panko and furikake mixture, coating evenly. Heat oil on griddle or in frying pan until a drop of water skitters across the surface. Place fillets on grill or in pan; do not crowd. Hot oil is the key to having a crispy coating and for it to be juicy inside; allow fillet to turn golden brown. Turn over after 1-2 minutes and continue frying until done, another minute or so. Serve hot with steamed rice.

*Japanese cracker meal; this calls for the white variety.

**Seasoned, dried Japanese seaweed.