As the Executive Chef of Alan Wong’s Restaurants, Lance revels in the creative and professional challenges of working with Chef Wong to bring the restaurants’ distinctive menu and cuisine to life — a cuisine that blends European and Asian culinary techniques with local style flavors and the freshest of local ingredients.
Born and raised in Honolulu, Lance attended Iolani School and the University of Hawaii where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology. Though cooking has always been a deep rooted passion for him, without the formal training, he turned to the construction industry. After a few years, he decided to pursue his desire — to cook. He returned to school to attend the Kapiolani Community College’s Culinary Program.
In 1994 after completing the Program, Lance began his culinary experience at Roy’s Restaurant and interned at The Koele Lodge with Chef Edwin Goto. Today, Lance has found his home at Alan Wong’s Restaurant. He helped open the restaurant in 1995 and has progressed from dishwasher to Executive Chef, where he directs the kitchen operations and represents the restaurant in Chef Wong’s absence. When the new Alan Wong’s Restaurant in Japan opened in 2000, Lance was chosen to launch the new venture alongside Chef Wong. There he spent three months training the staff, developing menus and setting up kitchen management procedures.
Lance’s dedication and commitment to his passion has led him to receive a two week internship at Rover’s in Seattle, followed by several guest chef appearances in New York (Essex House), Seattle (Chateau Ste. Michelle), California (Brava Terrace), Singapore (Raffles, Doc Cheng’s) and Guam (Roy’s Guam Hilton), just to name a few. In 2002, he was selected as one of the top ten sous chefs in America by the Second Annual Bertolli Sous Chef Awards.
However, it is the local community events that he enjoys the most. He enjoys interacting with elementary, middle school and high school students whether at a career day, a field trip to the restaurant or at local fairs and community events. He is most rewarded if he can convince a truant-bound student to stay in school and continue his education.
There has always been a direct connection between food and happiness for Lance. He has fond memories of large family gatherings featuring an abundance of home cooked offerings. After all, home is where new dishes are created in a spontaneous and unpredictable fashion.
