1 minute read
Local Food
by: CARY WONG
“ Local Food” with a Hawaiian Twist
Chef Ravi Kapur and Liholiho Yacht Club
The life story of Chef Ravi Kapur seems to revolve around Hawaii and San Francisco. His mother is Hawaiian Chinese and his father is from India. They met in the Bay Area but returned to Hawaii to get married and stayed there afterward. Chef Kapur was born and raised in Hawaii and grew up in a multi-ethnic community with relatives and friends from all over the world.
His family really enjoyed eating but the practice of enjoying and sharing food together made the biggest impact on him. Everything was shared and not meant to be kept to oneself. That individualistic idea was completely foreign to him. “The trend of familystyle, it’s pretty hilarious,” he says. “To me, it's not a trend. It's just how it's always been and honestly how it should be.”
Though he grew up watching cooking channels and Food Network he never imagined having a career as a chef. During his college years, he started cooking for friends for fun. Eventually, he made the move to eschew college and instead attended culinary school in San Francisco.
He worked at restaurants in New Mexico but eventually returned to the Bay Area and started working with Nancy Oakes. He progressed up the ranks, eventually ending up as the Executive Chef and the partner of Prospect Restaurant, which received 4.5 stars from The San Francisco Chronicle.
He is very proud of his Hawaiian heritage. As a result, you may be surprised to learn his real thoughts about the general renewed interest in Hawaiian food in the past few years. A lot of people scroll through Instagram to see streams of Tiki bar videos and poke bowl images because these are exciting. In Chef Kapur’s mind, however, it is very hard to define what true Hawaiian culture is.
Read more at https://issuu.com/rareluxuryliving/docs/troora_san_francisco_2021_pages/86
