| Hiro Sone was born into
an eighteenth-generation rice farming family in the Miyagi
district of Japan. Encouraged in his culinary interests by
his grandfather, he attended the highly regarded Japanese
cooking school, École Technique Hôtelière
Tsuji, where he trained under such legendary French chefs
as Paul Bocuse, Pierre Troisgros, and Joel Robuchon. During
the course of his education, he was also exposed to chefs
from Japan, China, Hong Kong and Italy. Just before graduation,
he traveled through Europe visiting his teachers' restaurants-a
formative experience that created the framework for what would
become his own personal style of cuisine. After graduation,
he worked in Tokyo at an Italian restaurant for five years,
beginning as a dishwasher and working his way up to sous chef-an
experience that he says taught him respect for every position
in the kitchen. He credits growing up on a farm with teaching
him respect for ingredients and the work that goes into raising
them, as well as a sense for seasonality and using only what
is ready in the garden.
He had no idea what "California Cuisine" was when
he was offered the position as sous chef at Spago, but two
months at the restaurant in L.A. opened his eyes to more than
the culinary possibilities-he met Lissa Doumani. Raised in
a California winemaking family, Lissa grew up in the Stag's
Leap vineyards. She always knew she wanted to own a restaurant
and boldly began her culinary career as a pastry cook under
Nancy Silverton at Spago. Despite the language barriers, Hiro
and Lissa formed the beginnings of a relationship out of the
common bond of having families that made a living off of the
land. Hiro went back to Japan, but with some good-natured
encouragement from Wolfgang Puck and his wife, Barbara, he
and Lissa kept in touch. A year later, Lissa traveled to Tokyo
to train Spago's pastry chef. They both eventually returned
to the United States-Hiro became the chef at Spago in Los
Angeles, and Lissa moved on to become the pastry chef at Roy
Yamaguchi's 385 North.
Hiro and Lissa spent the next few years dreaming about their
ideal restaurant, but the real thing had yet to materialize.
Then, in 1988, Lissa's dad woke them "at an ungodly hour"
with a phone call about an old chicken hatchery in the Napa
Valley town of St. Helena. It was love at first sight. Fourteen
years later, their restaurant, Terra is a cornerstone of the
Napa Valley restaurant community. They have received the DiRona
Award every year since 1994, and have earned the Wine Spectator
Award of Excellence for their wine list and service. In 2000,
Hiro merited the Robert Mondavi Culinary Excellence Award.
The James Beard Foundation awarded Hiro as "Best Chef
in California" in 2003. The Bay Area Zagat Guide consistently
rates Terra in the top ten for food, service and décor.
In 2001, they published their eagerly-awaited cookbook, Terra:
Cooking from the Heart of Napa Valley, with Ten Speed
Press.
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