Sponsored by Hawaii Gas
An award-winning chef, Jon Matsubara has been making his culinary mark throughout Hawaii for the last 20 years and is currently the chef and owner of FEAST, an island-style, refined grinds restaurant located in Manoa Valley. HI Now host Kanoe Gibson stopped by to try the famous lobster roll everyone is posting to Instagram.
“The most popular dish right now we have it the lobster roll,” says Chef Matsubara. “We’ve sold thousands of these already. It’s on a King’s Hawaiian sweet roll. Butter it up — just a little fresh dill and lemon on top and that’s all you need.”
Named one of the “Top Chefs to Watch” by Modern Luxury Hawaii Magazine, Matsubara created the first chef-driven restaurant for Bloomingdale’s as the Executive Culinary Director of their Ala Moana location in 2016. He was previously the opening Executive Chef of Merriman’s in Honolulu, Chef de Cuisine at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach’s Japengo, and Executive Chef of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel’s Azure, where he was pivotal in helping the restaurant win Honolulu Magazine’s 2010 Hale Aina Award for “Hawaii’s Best New Restaurant,” the 2010 Ilima Award for “Hawaii’s Best Restaurants Critics Choice” and in 2011 Hale Aina Award for “Oahu’s Best Restaurant Bronze.” Prior to Azure, Matsubara was an Executive Chef for Stage Restaurant, where he was awarded with 2007 Hale Aina Award for “Best New Restaurant.”
He has been featured at the James Beard House in New York City and on the Food Network, Travel Channel, Zagat and the Today Show.
Chef Matsubara began his culinary career as a dishwasher at Honolulu’s acclaimed Alan Wong’s and Roy’s Restaurant, honed his skills and served as Chef de Partie in the famed New York kitchens of Restaurant Jean Georges, Tabla, Bouley and as Chef de Cuisine of Canoe House Restaurant in the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel. Matsubara attended the French Culinary Institute in New York and graduated with distinctions.
For more information: feastrestauranthawaii.com, or on Instagram: @feast808