Bruce Hill Interview

When you meet Bruce Hill, you will probably find him intently at work in the kitchen chopping an onion, washing a pan, or putting the finishing touches on an artfully sculpted entrée. In the kitchen, Hill definitely gets his hands in things hands guided by an artistic vision. As the executive chef at the Waterfront Restaurant in San Francisco, Hill is receiving bend-over-backwards acclaim for dreaming up, molding to shape, and putting out some of the most exciting, Asian-inspired cuisine in the city--all of this from a man who has never himself visited Asia.

"Asian Fusion" is said to be the hottest cooking style to emerge this decade-- a melding of culinary influences from Thailand, Vietnam, China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, and India. Many chefs have jumped onto the Asian bandwagon, combining a desire to break new ground with a desire to create exciting new culinary combinations. Food-sophisticated cities like Chicago, San Francisco, and New York have been familiar with it for some time, seeing Asian noodle restaurants gain in popularity while star chefs "borrow" traditionally eastern ingredients to lend flair to their menus.

Thirty-seven year old Hill has been around the block. Most recently, he earned his Asian-fusion credentials by putting San Francisco’s now defunct Oritalia on the culinary map. There he created cuisine that became the talk of the town, earning himself a reputation as a local "chairman of the board" of chefs boldly defining the emerging Asian-fusion repertoire. It was with much anticipation when Hill accepted restaurateur Al Falchi's challenge to do the same thing at view-rich The Waterfront.

The Waterfront is not new. It's been a familiar place on the Embarcadero for nearly 30 years. After years of existence as a "wharf side" destination, known more for its views than its culinary exploration, Falchi's investment in a 3.25 million makeover has been a smashing success. The new Waterfront has two levels: the main attraction is upstairs, where Hill orchestrates a constantly evolving Asian-inspired menu, in a chic, modern dining room with antique Asian furnishings and gorgeous views; and the more casual downstairs, a seafood restaurant that seats 100 inside and another 100 outside on a deck offering a superb view of the Bay Bridge.

Despite its location, gorgeous views and appeal to visitors, The Waterfront has been a hit among critics as an anomaly, a destination with every element of tourist appeal putting out some of the most adventurous cuisine in the city. Hill, through his stewardship of Oritalia and now the Waterfront, is regarded as a defining practitioner of the budding Asian-fusion trend bringing discipline, clarity, and sure hand to food combinations that could just as easily fail under a lesser hand. Hill brings a commitment to continual improvement--he is amazed at the wealth of Asian spices and seasonings to draw from, but feels it is necessary and even important to become knowledgeable with these cuisines in order to combine the right ingredients and produce good results.

I caught up with Hill in January at the Waterfront·

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How did you get involved in the restaurant scene?

I knew that I was going to be in the food industry from a very young age. I grew up in Washington, D.C. My family had an appreciation for good food and my mother was a very "worldly cook," constantly preparing unusual dishes inspired from different parts of the world. I have vivid memories of black currant candies and watercress salad unusual things that I liked. I have no formal schooling in culinary arts. I am pretty much self taught, learning to cook in the many restaurants I have worked at over the years.

What types of restaurants have you worked in over your career?

Strangely enough, my cooking career began in hospital foodservice when I was in high school. It was an easy, well paying job that I took to right away. When I was 18, I moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where I continued to work in hospital kitchens, but I started to become identified as someone with leadership qualities, enabling me to progress up the ladder and eventually putting me in positions where I contributed to creating the menu.

How many restaurants have you worked in over the years?

At least twelve or fourteen, six since I’ve been in San Francisco.

You have been called a celebrity chef. What role do you feel "star" or "celebrity" chefs play in the American food scene?

A feel that noted chefs are people who possess vision. My main role at Waterfront is as much to develop the menu as to inspire and motivate employees. I’m the guy who comes in each day and says, "Hey everybody, we are going to kick ass today!" I always, no matter what my position, continue to keep my hands in all of the activities in the kitchen, whether it be washing a pan or slicing an onion. I obsess about being involved in each part of the operation.

How did you come into Asian-fusion cuisine?

I think it happened in two different directions at the same time. One, I’ve always enjoyed looking for new and unusual ingredients. Secondly, after accepting a position at Oritalia Restaurant in San Francisco, whose whole bent was toward Asian-fusion cuisine, I ran with their concept in and in the process refined their menu of fusing Italian and Asian food. I put together a team and was able to move their Asian-fusion concept to another level, taking the restaurant from a "friendly, neighborhood place" to one of the top- rated restaurants in San Francisco. Oritalia has since closed. But even now I hear about people who walk by the old location and talk about it.

The Waterfront is a reincarnation of a long-standing San Francisco restaurant. Can you talk this?

The original Waterfront started in 1975. The owners, Al and Cheryl Falchi, decided to make a big leap from what they had been doing over the years. They did extensive renovations and embraced a commitment to make the Waterfront a world-class restaurant. They have always been interested in great food. Al is also very enthusiastic about fusion food and goes to New York a lot to explore what’s happening there. He has been involved in other fusion restaurants like Brix in Napa Valley and Royâs in Hawaii. My background came out of more traditional California restaurants like Aqua, Stars, and other European-style places. Both of our visions and backgrounds definitely come to play at the Waterfront.

You have been noted for your high standards in approaching your menu.

We make Asian-fusion food differently than many other representations I’ve seen. I think the difference is that we intensely scrutinize our menu before we present it to our customers. We are intensely self-critical and have very high standards about what is "good enough" to be part of our menu. Regarding combinations of ingredients and styles, there are certain areas where I restrict myself; we keep away from sweet things with fish, for example, and I avoid dishes that are excessively spicy. These are two examples of what I have seen to be flawed in some of the Asian-fusion cuisine out there today.

Asian-fusion cuisine has become popular over the last few years. Do you feel it is trend is it here to stay?

There is definitely a lot of Asian-inspired food being created out there. Much of it runs the gamut. Some borders on "exploitation", which is unfortunate. You can’t really go to another country, look for inspiration, and "recreate" the food of the peasants. I think the Asian-fusion trend is still being defined and much of it will pass away as "trendy." But I believe some of the better examples will stick, becoming standard, classic American fare. I aspire to help carve out and define the Asian-fusion genre. I really hope many of the dishes I develop become classics, food that people come back for again and again.

I think we are still in the early stages and will continue to catch on for a while. Asian cuisine is still very "hip" and there is an incredible depth of influences from which chefs can become inspired. The Chinese have the richest food history of any world culture, a tradition going back over 5000 years.

What do you think about America’s recent obsession with Asian cuisine?

I think it’s wonderful. Asians know a lot eating healthy foods. People find that you just feel better after eating a bowl of noodles and a pile of stir-fried greens instead of a big piece of beef. I think it’s very inspiring when I eat a big, hearty American-style meal I just want to go to sleep afterward.

Your food may be Asian-inspired, but it looks very European?

Exactly. That’s what we try to do--create visually appealing dishes with a subtle, delicate mix of flavors. It’s a layering effect. Unlike the melange of flavors in a lot of Chinese cooking, you can pick out and identify all of the components.

What Asian cultures inspire you the most?

Mostly Chinese. But what I always try to do is rely on locally available foods, be they Chinese, Thai, or Vietnamese, that do not have to be imported or acquired abroad. We are fortunate, in San Francisco, to have China Town, and other pocket Asian communities, as a source of inspiration and ingredients. I eat widely at the "mom and pop" restaurants in the city, and I find much of my inspiration there.

What has the reaction been from Asian chefs and patrons that have grown up with the traditional cuisines you draw from?

They like it. I have Chinese chefs who eat here who have responded positively. I don’t think they see it as Chinese food, but as European food.

Where do you get most of your ingredients?

I rely on locally available ingredients. I don’t have exotic things flown in from the east. A lot of stuff I get through my product company, who in turn goes through a Chinese person. In San Francisco, we are also lucky to have China Town, the source of many of our ingredients. I shop there several times a week, look for unusual products, and bring them back to the kitchen to create and prepare our menu.

There are other places in the city where I find unusual ingredients. I regularly go to a Vietnamese market in a seedy section of town to get an herb I haven’t been able to locate anywhere else. It’s interesting the way we have to acquire some of the ingredients for our menu some things can only be found in China Town· you get it when they have it, and if they don’t, I get a look that says, "Tough shit, buddy come back some other time."

Does the sporadic availability of ingredients mean you must be flexible with your menu?

It’s taken a lot of trial and error to develop an understanding of when products are available. We know when to rely on the availability of certain products and plan accordingly. Chinese celery, for instance, has become a mainstay of the kitchen. It looks like big parsley, with very thin, long stalks and leaves that look like parsley. We use the stems for some dishes the leaves in others.

How many of your menu items are "mainstays" vs. items that change over time?

We’ve been open just over year and there are two dishes that have been on the menu since we opened. There’s just one dish that is "protected", the Roasted Garlic & Black Sesame Flan, but everything else is up for grabs.

It sounds like the Waterfront Kitchen is a wildly experimental place.

It is. Our cooks are encouraged to come up with new ideas and run them by my chef John Nelson. Our kitchen is a democratic place. Dishes that have created by our cooks go through a process of refining until it meets our standards.

To what extent to you consider wine in the creation of your menu?

Cuisine cannot be considered "fine dining" unless you can pair it successfully with wine. This is an important consideration for us, and we are always thinking about it when we create anything in the kitchen. I follow my intuition and instincts when I consider ideal food and wine combinations. I avoid items that are too spicy for this reason.

Do you work with your wait staff to inform customers about ideal food and wine pairings from your menu?

I don’t personally make recommendations, but we try to make sure that our wait staff is knowledgeable enough to assist patrons in choosing good wine and food pairings. We try to create a menu that is well rounded, displays general wine friendliness, and can be combined with any number of wines available on our list. There is no doubt that an "ideal" food and wine combination can be incredible when both go together, the food and the wine shine more brightly than either would on their own.

I hear your pastry chef does some unusual things in the kitchen.

Our pastry chef, David Gowing, uses a paint sprayer to apply a thin layer of chocolate to one of our deserts. David came to us quite after responding to a classified ad. He had worked with Joseph Keller at Bouchin in Nantucket. (ask about this other key players) He’s fantastic and we’re fortunate to have him on our team.

What are your hopes for the future of Waterfront?

I want to cement its place as one of the great restaurants in San Francisco. We’ve already established a notable reputation in the food scene and we want to continue to establish a lasting presence. The real battle has been to promote our particular location as a food destination. We’re surrounded by many mediocre "wharf side" restaurants catering to the tourist crowd. We are right on the water, and the views are a crowd-drawing element in and of itself, and many people who come here just don’t care about the food. Our hope is that people who stumble in here will be won over, continuing to come for the food.