Jay was born and raised in the small town of Wahiawa on Oahu, where he attended Kaala Elementary, Wahiawa Intermediate and later graduated from Chef Wong’s alma mater, Leilehua High School. He then studied at the University of Hawaii at Manoa graduating with a degree in Travel Industry Management with an emphasis in hotels and restaurants.
While attending the University of Hawaii, he got his first taste of the food and beverage industry by getting a job as a busboy in the Coffee Shop at the Hawaiian Waikiki Beach Hotel (known as the Holiday Inn Waikiki at the time). After six months, he transferred upstairs to the hotel’s fine dining restaurant, The Captain’s Table. As a waiter, he honed his skills in the lost art of tableside service, learning how to prepare a Caesar salad from scratch, carving and plating a chateaubriand, and finishing off with a bananas foster. He later worked as a host and soon became the assistant manager for the restaurant. During his nine and a half years at the hotel, he was promoted to restaurant manager and oversaw all of the hotel’s beverage outlets.
Wanting to gain experience in a larger corporate hotel, he was offered a position as relief restaurant manager at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki where he trained in the various food and beverage outlets, which included Ciao Mein and Colony Steak & Seafood, just to name a few. He finally settled in as the assistant restaurant manager for the Terrace Grille Restaurant.
After a couple of years at the Hyatt, he was then offered a position as the relief restaurant manager at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. Here, he was able to float and manage the various outlets, which included the Dome Showroom, Golden Dragon, Bali by the Sea, Village Steak and Seafood, Pasta Festival, Tapa Cafe, Rainbow Lanai, room service and the beverage department. He then settled in as the restaurant manager for the Hilton’s showcase Chinese restaurant, the Golden Dragon.
After four and a half years at the Hilton, Jay wanted to experience managing a restaurant in the private sector. So he moved onto manage the L’Uraku Restaurant. It was a bit of a culture shock initially, not having all the support departments of a large hotel. He could no longer call upon the maintenance or housekeeping departments to take care of repairs or cleaning. Now he was in charge of his own maintenance and housekeeping duties.
It is every manager’s dream work for the number one restaurant in the state. So when the opportunity arose in May of 2000, Jay jumped at the chance to work for Chef Wong as the Banquets and Catering Manager for The Pineapple Room and the King Street restaurant. He was also given the opportunity to work for a month at the Alan Wong's Restaurant in Japan. It was an experience he will never forget. He feels fortunate for the endless opportunities the company affords him and especially to be able to work with some of the finest people in the industry.
