A Conversation with Ronnie Nasuti - Helming the Flagship of Roy's Restaurant Empire
Gail Jennings
February 2006

There is a dashing quality to Ronnie Nasuti (pronounced 'na-zoo-tee') and it's related to an attitude of confidence that comes from a clear understanding of his role and place in the world. As a husband, father and executive chef of the Hawaii Kai flagship of the Roy's restaurant empire, he sees life in terms of what his responsibilities are to accomplish the task at hand rather than wasting a lot of time thinking about them - no navel gazing going on here. The attitude is not the least bit arrogant, and he is, in fact, quite humble as befits someone who hasn't always had it easy and who is very appreciative of where he is in his life. [Photo: A gift from wife, Suni, Ronnie rides his Harley-Davidson V-Rod to work every day that weather permits.]

Born in Massachusetts to a large Italian-American clan, food was central to family life. I asked him what his earliest food memory was and he talked about the meatballs his father used to make. He would pan sear them to seal in the juices and then put them into a large pot of gravy (red sauce) that had been simmering all day. Finally, he would make a gigantic meatball which was cooked and later sliced for use in sandwiches. Ronnie explained that as part of an immigrant family working to make it in America, his father had the childhood responsibility of cooking for the family. Though all of his aunts and uncles graduated from high school, everyone started working as soon as possible. The older children took jobs and the task of cooking fell to his father and his uncle. With eight children in his father's family, one can only imagine the huge quantities of food the young boys cooked to sustain the hard working family.

Ronnie's father passed away when he was only eight years-old and it wasn't too long before Ronnie started taking on some of the cooking at home to help his mother. Ronnie said, "We were poor, very poor, but we always ate good food. There was this Irish family across the street and they were better off than us, but we always ate much better than they did!"

"I knew when I was 13 that I would cook the rest of my life."

This certitude made it easy for him to make choices about school and work. At 14, he was washing dishes at a small local Italian restaurant and attending a four-year technical high school to get a degree in culinary arts along with the usual high school requirements. Ronnie learned everything from knife skills and how to make stock to measurement conversion. He shakes his head in disbelief at young cooks who don't know how many ounces in a gallon or how to convert grams to ounces and vice versa. He credits his vocational education for the solid foundation of culinary basics he learned early in life and his first job and boss for instilling a love for restaurant work.

By 17 he was the kitchen manager of the Italian restaurant he started out in, supervising graduates of the prestigious Johnson & Wales culinary program. He moved on to another Italian spot and it was there he met a guy from Hawaii who told him he ought to think about coming to the state. By 20, the economy on the East Coast was tanking, so Ronnie and a high school buddy decided maybe it was time to go West. After a year of saving, they had accumulated a nest egg of around $6,000, purchased round-trip tickets and promised that they'd give it a year.

They ended up in a small apartment in Waikiki and goofed off for a couple of months. Funds started to run low and the serious search for a job took precedence over partying and going to the beach. Ronnie found work as a line cook with Restaurants Unlimited at what was then Horatio's, and is now Kincaid's. He spent about two years there, but he had already set his sights on working for Roy Yamaguchi. He wanted a big name restaurant on his resume because, as he said, "...that's how you move up in the culinary world."

He landed a job as a line cook for Roy's Park Bistro, the short-lived hotel restaurant venture that Roy undertook for just a couple of years. About the time the decision was made to close the restaurant, Ronnie was deeply unhappy in his personal life. He was anxious to meet someone he could share his life with and nothing was working out for him. He claims that he was so lonely it scared women away! He finally decided it was time to leave Hawaii and started preparations to move back to the mainland.

His mind was made up, he was going back to the East Coast. Once the decision was made, gone was the sense of desperation and loneliness, so he relaxed and, of course, promptly met his future wife, Suni. He said he'd noticed her at various clubs for about three years but was afraid to approach her because she was very beautiful and exuded confidence. Well, this night she noticed him; it was love at first sight and the rest is history. He was offered the sous chef position at the soon-to-open Roy's in Poipu on Kauai and he was thrilled when she agreed to come along.

A couple of years on Kauai then it was back to Honolulu working at Roy's again. It was tough, though, because money was tight and he was offered a considerable raise to work at Chez Michel's (now closed). After much thought and an assurance from Roy's Director of Chefs, Gordon Hopkins, that he'd always have a place at Roy's if it didn't work out, he went to Chez Michel's. Ronnie says it wasn't the best situation, but he learned a lot during the years he was there.

In 1999, he found his way back to Roy's. Now he is the executive chef of the flagship restaurant of Roy's far-flung empire. I asked him how it felt to have the responsibility of representing Roy and his vision at the original Roy's in Hawaii Kai. That is when he told me that he focuses on the task at hand and doesn't spend time thinking about stuff like that. When asked to what he attributes his success, he replied, "I work harder than anyone else and I love what I do."

Ronnie greatly admires Roy's Corporate Executive Chef, Jackie Lau, and it appears the feeling is mutual. She told me that his sense of fun and enjoyment makes everyone love being around him. "His stories are so great, in all of our meetings we have the 'Ronnie, tell us a story time.'" I asked what a typical Ronnie story would be, and she said it is usually about his life growing up. She describes him as, "A great chef...tremendous food knowledge and no matter how crazy it gets in the kitchen, he always has fun and keeps everyone focused." She said, "You never see him sweat and he's great to take to events because he'll do all the talking. I tell him, 'Go talk to those people.' He just has a way of making people smile and feel good."

If you are fortunate enough to enjoy a meal at Roy's Hawaii Kai, keep your eyes open for Ronnie - he'll be the tall guy in the kitchen laughing and lighting a fire - under the staff and the food!

Q&A with Ronnie

1) What do you love about being a chef?
"It's glamourous at this level, it's blood & guts, it's passionate and it's a great way to communicate."

2) What common misconceptions do young or aspiring cooks have?
"They think it's easy. This is hard, physical work and after a 12-14 hour shift, you're exhausted."

3) What is your typical daily schedule?
"I'm usually at the restaurant around 10am and we start our reductions for sauces and write the menu for the evening. I can leave around 11pm if nothing unusual has happened during the night."

4) What do you do after work?
"I'm often really wired so I go home and watch episodes of my favorite show, Futurama."

5) Which character do you identify with?
"Probably Bender."

6) Other than Roy Yamaguchi, what chefs do you admire?
"Jackie Lau (executive corporate chef for Roy's). She is amazing. She can write a menu in 10 minutes. She can glance in my refrigerator and come up with a complete meal right off the top of her head."

7) Where do you go out to eat?
"Almost always Korean since my wife is Korean and my mother-in-law enjoys going out for Korean food."

8) How do you feel about kim chee?
"Well, there are always eight to 10 kinds of kim chee in our refrigerator at any given time and I love it."

9) What food do you crave?
"Pasta, if I don't have pasta every couple of days, I get the shakes."

10) If you could invite anyone to dinner, living or dead, who would it be and what would you cook?
"My father. He died when I was very young and I think he would be very proud that I am a cook. I'd like to serve him something he'd be familiar with but maybe with some of the influences I've learned over the years."