What were your favorite foods growing up?
I was always a fan of BBQ in the summertime.

What is your least favorite food?
Raw bell peppers

What is your beverage of choice?
Hendricks gin and tonic w/ lime

What was the most spectacular meal you have ever had?
A pig and lobster roast in Thailand

What do you eat when you are home?
Always have a bunch of different sorbet in the crib

What is your best cooking tip for a home enthusiast?
Every time you make something at home, try and take it a step further and expand your comfort zone.

Where and when did your career in food begin?
I took a home economics class in high school to meet girls.

When did you decide you wanted to be a chef?
I guess when I was in high school; I had worked in a couple of kitchens as a dishwasher, thought heck, I might be on to something here.

If you didn't become a chef, what would you be?
Navy fighter pilot

Who/what has shaped your cooking the most over the years?
I think I've taken the strengths and weaknesses of every chef I've worked for and crafted my own style out of it.

What influences your cooking style and particularly the menu at Perilla?
The countries I've traveled and cooked in; Thailand, Spain, Mexico, Puerto Rico.

Which foreign country inspires your style most?
Thailand

What is your favorite secret ingredient?
Mana (Iranian Tree Resin)

What are your favorite culinary weapons in the kitchen?
Ittosai Kensai knives

If I'm trying to watch my weight and I’m eating at your restaurant, what am I ordering to eat?
Pork T-Bone

When you are not eating at your own restaurant…you are eating?
Usually very rustic ethnic food

What are some recent dining and culinary trends you have been observing?
The burger boom

What was the most challenging meal you had to make? Why?
Tasting menu for 10 people from the wine board in Oregon. One person was a vegan and one vegetarian. Those folks want creative food as well. Folks with dietary restrictions can't be an afterthought.

What was your worst restaurant disaster?
Last night, we lost our gas in the kitchen because of a short circuit. Saturday night with a full dining room. Nightmare

What is the one rule or value you try to instill in all of your staff?
Stop breaking the plates! No seriously, we're all here to teach one another.