Expert Interview: Eric Hara
Behind the Chef Eric Hara
What were your favorite foods growing up?
Burritos. Carne Asada.
Where and when did your career in food begin?
In Santa Barbara, when I was 16.
If you didn't become a chef, what would you be?
Probably a lawyer. I like to talk a lot -- make that argue a lot.
Who/what has shaped your cooking the most over the years?
David Burke.
What are your favorite culinary weapons in the kitchen?
Vita prep. And my 10" onyx knife.
What influences your cooking style and particularly the menu at your restaurant?
Everyday life. Everyday food.
What is your favorite secret ingredient?
Fennel seed.
What is the one rule or value you try to instill in all of your staff?
Listen & pay attention!
If I'm trying to watch my weight and I'm eating at your restaurant, what am I ordering to eat?
Any of my salads. gazpacho with prawns, sashimi with sea urchin, beef carpaccio, octopus salad.
What was the most challenging meal you had to make? Why?
New Years Eve 2008. We decided to offer the customers an array of menus that evening. It was too many options for too many people and not enough plates coming out when we needed them to.
What was your worst restaurant disaster?
The Ansel system went off at David Burke & Donatella one time in the middle of service; we had to cook the salmon in the dishwasher. No joke.
What is your least favorite food?
Salmon
What is your beverage of choice?
Coca-Cola
What are some recent dining and culinary trends you have been observing?
French classics and basics are making a big comeback right now.
When you are not eating at your own restaurant...where are you eating?
Aureole. Noodletown downtown.
Which foreign country inspires your style most?
The world inspires me. I'm a student of the Earth.
What was the most spectacular meal you have ever had?
Hotel Creole in Paris. Le Ambassador. 2008.
What is your best cooking tip for a home enthusiast?
SALT!
What do you eat when you are home?
Whatever my lovely wife cooks for me.
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Expert Profile
Eric Hara
Eric Hara, the Executive Chef of the legendary Oak Room at The Plaza Hotel, has reimagined classic American cuisine for a contemporary palate. While Hara's seasonal menu is innovative and playful, each dish is a showcase for the true flavors of top quality ingredients and the chef's undoubted skill.
Though he first began experimenting with cooking at age 16, Hara, a native of Los Angeles, began his culinary career in earnest when he enrolled in a local hotel and restaurant school in Santa Barbara. After graduation, Hara worked with a number of celebrated chefs such as Michel Richard at his flagship restaurant Citronelle at the Santa Barbara Inn Hotel, John Downey at the acclaimed Downeys in Santa Barbara, and Camille Schwartz at Restaurant Mimosa. Hara further refined his culinary technique at the Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel, and then at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise in Canada.
At the age of 26, Hara moved to New York City and became executive chef of The New York Times two-star restaurant Chez Josephine. Rounding out a career marked by a series of gifted mentors, Hara sharpened his skills alongside Rick Laakkonen before joining David Burke as executive chef at first Davidburke & Donatella and then at Fishtail. In 2007, Hara was named a "Rising Star Chef" for New York City by Starchefs.com for his continued innovation in the culinary world.
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