Umi

Stewart Chen, owner and executive chef at Umi, was raised in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He embarked on his culinary adventure when he began his new life in the United States in 1988. With three Bay Area restaurants already under his belt, Chens entrepreneurial spiritand culinary skills has earned him praise from his guests. Previous to his career as a chef/owner restaurant entrepreneur, Chen gained his culinary experience at various restaurant and hotels. His humble beginning was in 1990 at Suisha, then a very popular Japanese restaurant in Foster City. He was able to learn the entire operational functions of the restaurant from the ground up, starting as a dishwasher. The executive chef of the restaurant taught him how to properly cook and marinate the sushi rice, how to choose the freshest seafood, how to fillet different types of fish, how to intelligently inventory to control freshness, and eventually how to make and prepare sushi and various Japanese style dishes. Chens strong Japanese cuisine foundation has proven to be an invaluable asset in his road ahead. In 1995, he became the chief sushi chef at the San Francisco Marriotts Kinoko restaurant. Then in 1996, he joined the culinary team at the San Francisco Sheraton Palace Hotel. Hotel exposure and the chances to work with world class acclaimed chefs further enhanced Chens style toward California fusion. Chen departed the hotel business in 1999 to open his first restaurant, Amberjack Sushi, a 35-seat restaurant in the Noe Valley. At Amberjack, he introduced and fine tuned his California style by layering texture and flavors based on his Japanese and American cuisine experience. In 2004, he opened a family-style Amberjack Sushi in Mill Valley, California. Recently, Chen, always in tune with the trend, envisioned a modern bistro-style Japanese sushi and sake bar on Union Street. Thus, Skipjack Sushi, was born in 2006, which appealed to both local and visiting sake and sushi lovers. With the birth of his daught