We were lucky to catch up with Michael Kitano recently and have shared our conversation below.
Michael, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
I get my work ethic from my grandparents and parents. My maternal grandparents raised my mother and her siblings on a farm in Cotati, CA. They raised chickens and vegetables. This was a hard time since it was around WW2 and the horrific imprisonment of the Japanese Americans. Upon their release, my grandparents thrived on and continue work hard on their farm. My mother, just a toddler then, helped gather eggs and other miscellaneous farm chores. From the stories my mother told me, my grandparents were hard working blue collar individuals. My mother became a teacher, educating the youth of Hawaii until she and my father moved in Los Angeles.
My paternal grandparents taught me the benefits of hard work as well. My paternal grandmother was an executive pastry chef in various hotels around Honolulu. My paternal grandfather worked as a restaurant manager and becoming the post master of the Kailua post office. They both met while working at the Dole Pineapple cannery. My father would constantly tell me he would work himself so ragged from his shifts at Dole, that he would come home and immediately fall asleep. He also told me that as he worked, his co-workers would tell him to “slow down” which to this day still annoys him. It annoys me also. He would eventually leave the blue collar world and become a lawyer; still practicing to this day.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
During the day I assist my father as a paralegal handling daily operations from corporations to wills and trusts. As the idea of retirement slowly approaches him, I decided to launch my own thing. I’m also a classically french trained chef; went through the whole culinary school thing. I worked in several restaurants but the one that stands out the most, was a french restaurant run by a filipino chef. There I was taught the classic chef brigade, starting off as a dishwasher then moving up the line. Eventually I was taught by a french saucier which many years later, helped me win awards in sauce making.
My business is called “Hapa Meals” and I specialize in fusion cuisine. I recently befriended a fellow chef and we launched our collaboration called, “Darko X Hapa”. He specializes in filipino cuisine and with my already japanese/hawaiian fusion, it just made sense. Currently we operate in different breweries as a mobile food pop up in the Los Angeles Area. Most recently we were offered a permanent spot in El Segundo doing their “Taco Tuesday” event. We’re currently talking about doing more collaborations down the road with this particular brewery. Looking forward to what lies ahead.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Three skills that were most impactful in my journey would be: 1. Be yourself. I visit breweries to see their vibe and to talk with owners/managers. People can see through you if you’re not authentic and genuine. So go out, be yourself and present yourself
2. Have Patience. Don’t expect everything at once. Especially while working for it. When you fail, you learn. There have been several times at my events where it was just not worth it. But had I not taken a chance, how would I have known. Having patience for the next event can be rewarded. Just keep striving and moving forward. Don’t dwell on it or it will just eat you alive.
3. Enjoy the moment. There will be times where it gets rough. Take it for what it’s worth but don’t allow it to take away your enjoyment of your craft/job. Trust in yourself and it will be rewarding.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
I am also open to collaboration. If I wasn’t, Darko X Hapa would never have been born. For collaborations, I’m looking for those who enjoy cooking; whether it be a home cook, first year culinary student, pro chef, anybody who enjoys the culinary arts. The biggest thing I always tell other people is to check your ego at the door. Us as Chefs yes we have HUGE egos. But continuing to have said ego only can lead down the wrong path. Nobody wants to work with an egotistical individual. Waste of time for all parties involved and nobody wants their precious time wasted right?
For all inquires or questions, you can follow me on Instagram at @hapa_meals and at @darkoxhapa.
Thanks for reading!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.hapameals.com
- Instagram: @hapa_meals @darkoxhapa
