Craig Bixel
Chef Roy Yamaguchi
For anyone who watches reality food TV, you know the original 12 Top Chef Masters when the program debuted are the Jedi Knights of American cookery—the men and women who are on a first-name-basis with a country of foodies.
And you know Roy Yamaguchi is among that elite group. Aside from his gig on Bravo, he hosted six seasons of Hawaii Cooks with Roy Yamaguchi on PBS, published four cookbooks, and opened three dozen restaurants throughout the islands and the mainland. Two things that are a huge deal on any chef’s bio hardly seem like a big deal: He’s a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America (this detail is a big deal, however: In 2009, he was elected to its board of trustees) and a winner of a James Beard Award (best chef of the Pacific Northwest).
All of which is why Southwest Floridians are lucky to have him here Sept. 19, when Chef Yamaguchi will be in the kitchen of the Bonita Springs Roy’s Restaurant. He and local chef-partner Ignacio Ortiz will be preparing a four-course wine dinner. Reservations starting at 5 p.m. will be accepted. The $79-per-person menu includes a striped sea bass carpaccio with Whitehaven Sauvignon Blanc, followed by a Hawaiian-style bouillabaisse (complete with jumbo tiger prawns in a curried Swarnadwipa broth) paired with Landmark Overlook Chardonnay, then a shoyu-charred rib-eye with Justin Cabernet, and a banana torte with an Oreo cookie crust and salted caramel sauce for the sweet ending.
We lost the Roy’s in Naples this past year, so it’s doubly good to know the Bonita one is definitely here to stay—in fact, the restaurant has released a new “Aloha Hour” menu featuring $7 cocktails and $3 craft beers (FYI, the deal includes hours at the end of the night, too), and it will be undergoing a renovation to the dining room this December. And don’t worry—as to not disappoint fans, the promise is to be open both Thanksgiving and Christmas.
For reservations to the Sept. 19 wine dinner, contact:
(239) 498-7697
26831 South Bay Drive, Bonita Springs
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