Liz’s big move to the Harbor
Elizabeth Hata Watanabe, owner of the popular O Lounge, fulfills a dream by opening Harbor Court Bistro
By .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
E-mail this story | Print this page | Archive | RSS |
Del.icio.us
|
THE O LOUNGE OWNER LIZ WATANABE GETS INTO THE RESTAURANT BIZ AT HARBOR COURT BISTRO DOWNTOWN
Teary-eyed yet smiling, Elizabeth Hata Watanabe gushes about her pregnancy and the struggles she anticipates in trying to assure her 4-year-old son, Kevin, that even with a new baby, Mommy will love him just the same.
As it breaks her heart thinking about not being able to give her little tyke her undivided attention as she does now, she also gleams with excitement at the thought of being a mommy all over again. And now that she’s got news about the gender of the baby (it’s a boy!), she can start preparing for his arrival in December.
But before she’s able to enjoy the diaper changes and late-night feedings, the working mom has some business to attend to, as she opens a new restaurant, Harbor Court Bistro, next week. And it’s literally a dream come true for her.
“Food is my family’s background and has always been my passion,” says Watanabe, great granddaughter of Yoichi Hata, founder of Y. Hata & Co., Hawaii’s premier broadline food service distributor since 1903. “My original intent with my first business (The O Lounge) was also to be a restaurant, but the clientèle dictated otherwise. But now, being a mom, I’m dictating otherwise because I think this career choice is more conducive for a family lifestyle.”
As a person who enjoys cooking and admits to be fairly good at it, Watanabe’s passion is more involved with what happens after the preparation - eating. So the food lover turned to someone who definitely knows his way around a kitchen - Executive Chef Alexio Thomas Corleon.
When searching for a chef for her restaurant, Watanabe turned to her family’s company’s (Y. Hata & Co.) Executive Corporate Chef Ernesto V. Limcaco for advice. Topping his list was Chef Corleon. After a meeting and “interview,” Watanabe knew she had found the perfect leader for her restaurant’s kitchen.
|
“After I met Thomas, I didn’t interview anyone else,” says Watanabe. “I loved his personality and his background knowledge. I was really impressed that he was educated in France and that a lot of his food also has an Asian flair.”
Chef Corleon, of French and Vietnamese descent, grew up in France, the culinary mecca of the world, where he also earned top honors in Asian cuisine from La Santa Belle de Cordon Bleu Institute. He brings 15 years of restaurant experience with a flair for fusing international tastes from France, Italy, Asia and the Mediterranean.
Seasonal, fresh and homemade are three key elements of the chef’s Harbor Court Bistro menu.
“Our menu will also have a large selection of daily, weekly and seasonal specials to offer our guests,” says Chef Corleon.
Corleon’s work experience here on the island includes Haleiwa Joe’s Seafood Restaurant, Kapono’s and Jackie’s Kitchen.
Located at Harbor Court, hence its name - formerly known as Palamino’s and Cassis - Watanabe, Corleon and their well-seasoned staff are gearing up for their grand opening Aug. 4.
Topping off the list of things to do is making sure that everyone “loves” not just “likes” the menu. And after hearing Watanabe gush about almost every dish at the photo shoot - coming from a woman who knows exactly what she likes and how she likes it - my expectations were pretty high.
“Try the banana ketchup!,”
Page 1 of 2 pages for this story 1 2 >
E-mail this story | Print this page | Comments (0) | Archive | RSS
Most Recent Comment(s):
