The best chef job in town

• Y. Hata feeds local appetites for 100 years
• A little something from chef's repertoire

By Wanda A. Adams
Advertiser Food Editor

Ernesto Limcaco shows Jessica Sagun, 15, a culinary intern and student at Moanalua High School, how to safely place foie gras into a hot frying pan. Sagun, who wants to be "the next Emeril," calls working with Limcaco "the experience of a lifetime." Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser Tips from chef Ernesto When frying food in hot fat, position it so that the side closest to you hits the fat first — that way, it splashes away from you. Don't poke or prod food as it cooks; remove one piece to check for doneness; try to turn frying food only once. Never overcook anything; you can always cook it further but you can't reverse the process. Salt as you go, a little bit at a time, to layer the flavors, rather than dumping salt in all at once. Whenever you buy Maine lobster or other large crustaceans, ask for the male; there is a greater meat-to-shell ratio. Always cook shrimp in the shell, even if you plan to use it unshelled. When blanching shrimp for cocktail or other uses, boil it only until it's three-quarters done; then let it cool gradually rather than plunging it into cold water, which washes the flavor away. To cut the acidity in marinara sauce, add just a pinch of baking soda. Taste of Honolulu Tastings are offered by restaurants from around the island. Scrip sales and admission fee benefit Easter Seals. New this year: Chef du Jour tent offering special dishes from island chefs, wine, sit-down dining; $35 admission; dinner 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday and brunch 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday. Chef Ernesto Limcaco "Short-Cut Cooking" demonstrations with Advertiser food editor Wanda Adams, 2:30 and 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Advertiser booth; free recipes. General hours: 5 to 10 p.m. Friday; 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday; 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday Admission: $3 general, free for seniors and children 12 and younger Information: Easter Seals Hawai'i, 536-1015, www.EasterSealsHawaii.org or www.taste808.com

Over the course of the next five years, leading into the company's 100th anniversary in 2003, the Y. Hata team upgraded the company's infrastructure, acquired a restaurant supply company and a baked goods branch, and launched a new gourmet line.

But a year ago, Vogel did something nobody understood: He hired a corporate chef.

Ernesto Limcaco (Lim-KAH-ko), who will be giving a pair of cooking demonstrations sponsored by The Advertiser at The Taste of Honolulu Saturday, had been the chef at one of Vogel's favorite restaurants, the now-gone Taipan on the Boulevard on Kapi'olani in Honolulu. Limcaco was happy to run into Vogel one day at the Y. Hata retail outlet when he was hopping for a catering gig (he maintains a sideline as a personal chef). Vogel urged him to come upstairs for a chat.

"He offered me a job on the spot," Limcaco recalls. The chef was flattered but puzzled. He asked if Vogel intended to set up a company cafeteria. No. Were they thinking of starting a restaurant? Not really.

"So then, what does Y. Hata need a chef for?" Limcaco asked. Vogel was vague.

Limcaco agreed reluctantly to come aboard as a consultant. For two months, the slim, energetic man, who describes himself as someone who likes to be doing something all the time, sat at a desk wondering what to do. Vogel smiled and steered clear.

One day, Limcaco decided to go out on a call with one of the sales representatives. In the kitchen of a local restaurant, he asked a chef — just making conversation — "So, what are you planning for Mother's Day specials?" Though Mother's Day was just a couple of weeks away, the chef had no plans. So Limcaco made some suggestions (using Y. Hata products, of course) and even came back later to show him the dishes.

"He loved it. That's when I knew what my place was," Limcaco said. "I am part of the marketing team; I'm a value-added service." Y. Hata does not charge for his services.

"I thought he was the right guy for this," Vogel said. "But he had to find that out."

Chef and mentor

In the intervening year, Limcaco has bounced from task to task in what has to be one of the best chef jobs in town. He and Vogel put their heads together to design a nifty test kitchen and dining room where sales people can sample products (called "cutting," a key to matching products with clients), conduct training sessions for staff and "partners" (their term for customers). They can also entertain guests or host the private parties that the company occasionally gives away at charity auctions. Recently, Denny's, a client, borrowed the kitchen to train staff in new menu items without having to disrupt their restaurant kitchens.

Limcaco brought with him a commitment to mentoring young people. Now Y. Hata has a chef-intern in 15-year-old Jessica Sagun of Moanalua High School, who has had her first taste of foie gras and lamb chops under his tutelage. "This is the experience of a lifetime for me. He is the best teacher; he talks you through things, he doesn't get mad," said Sagun, whose goal is to be "the next Emeril."

Limcaco helps Y. Hata's military clients upgrade the skills of their chefs and, in a win-win agreement, the soldiers and sailors serve as a volunteer force to assist him with projects — learning skills (and, of course, getting fed) in the process. Recently, he helped an Army dining facility staff prepare for a culinary arts competition; they came in second in the United States.

Limcaco always knew he wanted to work with food and people. "I made my first leche flan when I was about 9 years old," recalled the chef, who was born in the Philippines and raised in San Francisco, where his mother owned a restaurant specializing in Filipino cuisine. By the time he was 15, he was working for a chain, The Magic Pan, that specialized in crepes. In 1978 a rival firm, The Crepe Machine, hired him to open a creperie here.

He has held all manner of restaurant jobs, in spots as varied as Le Bon Restaurant and Le Bistro and Hale Koa Hotel and even Pizza Bob's, as everything from chef de cuisine to caterer. At first, he set out to master classic French technique — he was only able to manage one year of culinary school between jobs, so he didn't have the luxury of classroom learning. Now, he takes a more eclectic approach — adobo with a touch of orange zest, Filipino-style fried rice, a version of classic Chicken Orloff made with barbecue gravy.

"Working in a lot of places has really, really been a benefit to me in this job," he said. "I've seen a lot. I've opened a lot of restaurants. I know lots of different types of kitchens, equipment, different systems." Often, it is Limcaco who visits a kitchen after the sales staff has sold a new piece of equipment, to show the chefs how to use it.

Crowded kitchen

Though Y. Hata's product line extends into the stratosphere of Kobe-style beef, foie gras and artisanal cheeses, they also sell a lot of canned and frozen food and semi-prepared products of the sort most high-end chefs wouldn't consider.

Limcaco was dubious, too, but said he has learned a lot about how to use previously processed foods and been surprised at how good some of them are. One day, he accidentally left a bag of frozen vegetables in the refrigerator and came back a couple of days later to find them still crisp and fresh tasting. Techniques for freezing items individually and at high speed mean that some foods taste better after being properly frozen and defrosted than foods that are "fresh," but have been sitting for a while, he said.

There's just one way that the job has not been what Vogel said it would be: While it isn't exactly a cafeteria, the kitchen does draw a lot of company. "We feed our employees a lot," said Limcaco. "You know wherever there's food there's gonna be a party."

Y. Hata feeds local appetites for 100 years

We've probably all eaten food from Y. Hata & Co. Ltd., even if we've never heard of the company.

Y. Hata is a "broad-line food service distributor" — that, is they sell everything from baked goods to beef, cheese to chips, as well as cooking equipment. The company is a major player here and differs from others in that it also operates a retail outlet.

Founded in the 1890s in Hilo, Hawai'i, by Yoichi Hata and his wife, Naeko, in a warehouse garage, the company in its present form turned 100 this year; five of the Hata's children are still involved in the business.

The company has four divisions: Y. Hata for general foodstuffs, Mid-City Restaurant Supply for kitchen equipment, Hans Weiler Foods for baking supplies and baked goods, and the newest line, Island Epicure, for gourmet and specialty products. Also, Y. Hata operates a small but intriguing cash-and-carry shop called Da Chef Store, in which seconds and damaged goods are sold, as well as certain lines popular with home cooks.

"It began as a way to deal with odd lots of things, but it's developed quite a following," said company president and chief executive officer Laurence Vogel.

There, you can find institutional-size packages of frozen or chilled prepared foods from meatballs to ready-made ribs, bags of frozen, prepared vegetables, hard-to-find cuts of meat (immense ham shanks for soups), a variety of dry mixes for soups and bases for sauce, dairy foods, gourmet items and oddball kitchen equipment. Y. Hata was where everyone went a few years ago when the turkey-frying craze hit, buying out their entire supply of peanut oil one Thanksgiving.

The store, open from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays and 7:30 to noon Saturdays, is at 285 Sand Island Access Road (watch out for big trucks as you drive into the parking lot).

A little something from chef's repertoire

When The Advertiser visited chef Ernesto Limcaco in the Y. Hata test kitchen, he and high school culinarian Jessica Sagun, his intern, were making "a little something." When you visit Limcaco, there's always "a little something" — but it's not the modest snack you or I would make. The menu on this day: crab cakes, sauteed foie gras, fried rice.

For his crab-cake recipe, chef Ernesto uses Phillips brand pasteurized canned crab — the ones you see in the large cans at Costco. You can use either the body or the leg meat. The lesson here is to avoid the common novice cook error of poking, prodding, turning and fiddling with the food as it fries. Let the cakes get golden brown and turn them just once; if you absolutely must, use a spatula to lift the cake just slightly to check the color, but chefs can tell without peeking by using their eyes (look at the side of the cake, where you can note changes in color) and nose (if it smells like it's burning, it is!).

Chef Ernesto's balsamic vinaigrette is one recipe he doesn't share. It's absolutely delicious, and he uses it in a wide variety of ways: as salad dressing, of course, but also as a marinade, drizzled over prepared dishes, even drizzled over pizza.

Chef Ernesto's Crab Cakes

• 1 yellow or red bell pepper
• 1 jalapeno pepper
• 1 pound crab
• 1 tablespoons Italian flat-leaf parsley
• 2 tablespoons garlic, minced
• 1/2 onion, minced
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 4 tablespoons mayonnaise
• Salt and white pepper
• 1 package (4 ounces) panko
• Olive oil for frying
• Balsamic vinaigrette

Roast, peel and puree the bell pepper and jalapeno pepper. (To roast, hold the pepper over an open flame on a long fork or tongs or broil in the oven on a baking sheet lined with foil and lightly sprayed with vegetable oil. Place roasted peppers in a paper bag until cool enough to touch; the steam helps lift the skin off the flesh to make peeling easier.)

In a bowl, lightly blend together peppers, crab, parsley, garlic, onion, mustard, mayonnaise, and salt and pepper to taste. The texture should be paste-like. Form small cakes. Place panko on flat plate or paper-lined counter and lightly press each side of cake into panko to coat.

Heat olive oil until smoking, lower temperature to medium and fry cakes. Do not crowd the cakes and do not turn until they are crispy golden brown. Place on warmed serving platter and drizzle with vinaigrette; serve immediately.

The following ultra-simple dish is one that Limcaco's mother used to make; it differs from Chinese-style fried rice in that it uses less fat and only garlic and green onion for flavor; it doesn't turn color.

The interesting technique here is that the garlic is left whole and unpeeled, just smashed — place the cloves on a cutting board and use the side of a wide knife or cleaver and the heel of one hand to mash the garlic down just enough to break the skin. Limcaco is fortunate always to have rendered duck fat on hand; home cooks can substitute bacon fat or even lard.

Filipino Fried Rice

• 1 tablespoon bacon drippings or duck fat
• 2 cups cold long-grain or jasmine rice
• 2-4 large garlic cloves, unpeeled, mashed
• 2-3 stalks green onion (green part only), minced
• Salt and white pepper

In a large saute pan, heat the fat to shimmering. Add garlic and rice. Stir occasionally, cooking about 7-10 minutes.

Add the green onion and stir to combine. Cook another 2 minutes and serve.