Restaurant Week: Forty Carrots

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - An award winning chef, Jon Matsubara brings an extraordinary background in the culinary industry.  Named one of the "10 Top Chefs to Watch" by Modern Luxury Hawaii Magazine, Chef Matsubara created the first chef driven restaurant in Bloomingdale's Company as their Executive Culinary Director.  Matsubara has been featured at the James Beard House in New York City and on the Food Network, Travel Channel, Zagat and the TODAY show. Prior to Japengo, Matsubara was at Azure where he helped the restaurant win Honolulu Magazine's 2010 Hale Aina Award for Hawaii's Best New Restaurant and the 2010 Ilima Award for Hawaii's Best Restaurants Critics Choice. In 2011, they were also recognized as "Oahu's Best Restaurant Bronze" by Honolulu Magazine.  Prior to Azure, Matsubara was an Executive Chef for Stage Restaurant, where he was awarded with Best New Restaurant by Honolulu Magazine's 2007 Hale Aina Award.

Chef Matsubara began his culinary career as a dishwasher at Honolulu's acclaimed Alan Wong's and Roy's Restaurant, honed his skills as 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 distinction. Chef Matsubara is a graduate of University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, Washington with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Native American History.

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