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Taka Kuwata
1. What is your favorite American Grille dish?
I have several. My first choice would be the Oven Roasted Rack of Lamb and my second choice would be the Wild Pacific Salmon. Being Japanese and growing up on seafood at a young age I find it very difficult to find a restaurant that can properly cook fish. Our boys in the kitchen have it down to a science and cook our fish perfectly every time!!!
2. Where have you worked before coming to the Vancouver Airport Marriott?
I've worked at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, The Best Western Richmond Hotel & Convention Center (which is now known as the Sheraton Vancouver Airport) and The Hilton Vancouver Airport Hotel.
3. What inspires you about wines?
I love the serious attention to detail the grape growers and wine makers absorb into the juice. I've tried making wines at home from pressing grapes, and to make a long story short, my wife has asked me to never make wine again.
4. What is your favorite wine?
My favorite this week would be a wine from Napa, California;
Orin Swift Cellars - The Prisoner
Full Bodied Blend
50% Zinfandel
24% Cabernet Sauvignon
14% Syrah
9% Petite Sirah
2% Charbono
1% Grenache
5. What is your worst fear?
The day our planet stops producing grapes for wine.
6. Who has inspired you the most in life?
Yannick Simovich has always left an everlasting impression on my career. Most of my food and beverage knowledge has been gained from him mentoring me. To this day we still share ideas and thoughts about where the industry is headed.
7. How did you choose Hospitality & Tourism as your career?
My mother was a server for 25 years. When I turned 16 she suggested I become a dishwasher at a high-end restaurant, telling me it would change my life. I quickly got promoted over the years, working every front of the house job possible and loving it ever since!
8. What is your brand of choice for a knife?
Many people don't know I have a huge passion for cooking. I have a couple of inspirational cooking books at home, where I will think up new recipes and sketch how they are going to look on a plate. I've always used Global Knives since the start and, knock on wood, I have never cut myself!
9. What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
When I get a free pass from my wife, I enjoy downhill mountain biking on the North Shore. The thought of speeding down a steep hill clears my head of any thoughts related to work, because the only thing running in my mind for 5 minutes is "don't crash and go over your handle bars".
10. What is your worst habit?
Playing with my Blackberry on my days off...
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