Kim learned to cook out of necessity, he says, but also out of a little bit of jealousy. "I grew up with my mother cooking for me. I like to eat good food, and as a waiter for years, I've seen a lot of good food going out. I got kind of tired of seeing all those good things go by. I wanted to eat that way, too."

But his budget didn't extend to high-end eating very often. And after eating at Zippy's pretty much every night — "I've tried everything on their menu" — he began teaching himself to cook to add a little variety to his life while staying solvent. (He still loves Zippy's, however.)

He started asking lots of questions of the chefs at the restaurants where he worked over the past 14 years. A particular mentor was Freddy Halmes, chef-owner at the Swiss Haus in Niu Valley, where he once worked (he's also been at Nick's Fishmarket, Sam Choy's and the Halekulani). He clips recipes, which he keeps in a brown folder that serves as his personal favorite cookbook. He watches the Food Network. He experiments and keeps careful notes.

"I kind of put things with my own flair, my own tastes, and my wife's, too," said Kim. "Anything she likes, I try to replicate." A couple of weeks ago, Dawn Kim saw lobster Thermidor demonstrated on television and asked her husband to make it for her. He did, faking a recipe based on her description.

Nathan Kim 35, married, waiter, raised in Kaimuki, lives in McCully area. Weeknight dinner standby: Shoyu chicken thighs — 1 can tomato sauce; using same can: 1 can shoyu, 1/2 can sugar, dash mirin; simmer until cooked. Cookbook I can't live without: "I just have a brown folder with a lot of snippets of different recipes." Shining culinary moment: "My bouillabaisse. I made it for my mother-in-law — and she's a really finicky eater — and she had three or four bowls, she enjoyed it so much." Worst kitchen disaster: "I tried to make a kind of pumpkin squash sauce for sautéed onaga, and it came out like a big clump of applesauce. We scratched dinner and went out to eat." Inspiration: "My wife. I pretty much cook for her." Kitchen secret: "I like to use wine in cooking — port, especially. It's a really sweet wine, and I do have a sweet tooth." Nominate top Home Cooks Home Cook is an occasional feature profiling talented home cooks and their favorite recipes. Nominate your friends or family (but let them know, so they won't be surprised when we call). Tell us what makes this person, and their kitchen, special, and how to reach the nominee. Write to: Home Cook, Taste section, The Honolulu Advertiser, P.O. Box 3110, Honolulu HI 96802; or wadams@honoluluadvertiser.com.

He makes a pot roast that takes three hours and has learned to prepare lamb in a variety of ways because it's his wife's favorite. He'll buy a rack of lamb, cut it into double chops, then lay on Dijon mustard and rosemary and a breadcrumb crust with Parmesan cheese.

The sauce, a favorite of the Kims, is made from a 1/2 cup of cabernet or merlot and a 1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar, reduced to a syrup, accented with a tablespoon of mint jelly. "It looks like dirty crude oil, but it tastes good," said Nathan Kim.

Wrote Dawn Kim in her nomination of her husband as a Home Cook feature subject, "My friends tease me that I eat better on a weekday than most people eat on their anniversaries, birthdays or special occasions!"

"She only has two good meals a week," said Nathan Kim, only half teasing. "She doesn't have an appetite without me." The mealtimes they share are precious because she works days and he evenings, so they don't have the luxury of time together every day. Cooking for her is both his day-off relaxation and a way of making that time more special.

"I ask her what she's craving in the morning before she leaves for work, and then I make it," he said. He maintains a slim pantry of staples, preferring to shop for the day's provisions with an eye to what's fresh, in season or looks especially good.

"I go out and shop first thing in the morning. I go to Chinatown, Tamashiro Market ... I really go out of my way to get the different things. I'm there fighting with the retirees who come out early to get the good stuff," he said, with a laugh.

Kim calls his cooking style Eurasian, and it jumps across ethnic lines. He particularly likes seafood — farm-raised moi, reef fish, snapper — and enjoys preparing these Chinese-style, steamed, then topped with sizzling peanut oil, cilantro and soy sauce.

Braising is a favorite cooking technique. He made a classic Italian ragu recently, meats slowly braised in a fresh tomato sauce, the dish then served in two courses: pasta tossed in the tomato sauce, the meats making up a separate course. "Unforgettable," said Dawn Kim.

And Dawn isn't his only fan. He concocted the bouillabaisse for Dawn's mom last Mother's Day. She's known for her high standards and is very selective about what she likes. But, said Dawn, "She is now making up another special event in order to get this dish again."

And he cooks salt-free meals for their 7-month-old pug puppy, Phoebe (named for the "Friends" character). "I make a mixture of half protein — chicken or lamb — and the other half vegetables, starches or fruits. There's about 10 or 15 ingredients in her meals. She likes the food so much now she doesn't want to eat anything else."

Her appreciation is his reward. "Appreciation — that's all the thank-you I need," he said.