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Chef Interviews
Having been brought up in a family of culinary experts, Jake Klein was able to hone his skills at a very early age. Today, Jake is well known for his artistic style and exclusive Asian cuisine. As the Executive Chef of Pulse, a hip restaurant located in the Sports Club/LA at Rockefeller Center, Jake stands out as one of the most talented rising chefs in New York City.
ASTV: Your family is very well known in the culinary world. Your grandfather owned the legendary Raphil’s, your mother was Miami’s premier restaurant publicist and your stepfather is an award winning cookbook author. Can you tell us how they have
influenced you?
JK: My stepfather, Steven Raichlen, has been a great influence throughout my culinary journey. He got me interested when I was very young. My chores were to break down leftover roast chicken to make stock! I’d say my training started when my stepfather took me to restaurants where we made a game out of guessing what was in our food. I was a very mischievous kid, so I was grounded many times. And as punishment, I was given tedious prep work for recipe testing. But I enjoyed it so much. I never let anyone at home know how much I liked their punishments (Laughs).
Also, when my stepfather went around to 32 countries to do research for his famous book “Barbeque Bible”, he came back with interesting barbeque recipes from Southeast Asia as well. This really intrigued me and inspired me to focus on grilling as well as travel around
Southeast Asia.
ASTV: You’ve traveled and worked in many places. What took you to Hong Kong? And how did you manage to handle a restaurant as the Executive Chef at an age of 23?
JK: I was offered the position of Executive chef for Miami Spice in Hong Kong. The restaurant was opened based on my stepfather’s book of the same name. I had a language as well as a cultural interpreter in Hong Kong who helped me understand the environment and run a kitchen with an all Chinese staff. Managing a restaurant for me is being able to gain respect of co-workers. This was my approach in Hong Kong as anywhere else.
ASTV: How do you define your cuisine? What inspires you to create them?
JK: I’d define my cuisine as “Asian food cooked through the eyes of an American.” It’s not Asian fusion. I always want to draw a parallel line between Western and Asian cuisine. So, I associate Chinese cuisine with French since both are more sauce based and have an elaborate style of cooking. Japanese cuisine has a theme similar to that of Italian food. Both emphasize fresh, simple and clean flavors. For me, Chinese dishes stay in the spirit of Chinese cuisine and Japanese dishes in the spirit of Japanese cuisine. So, it’s not exactly fusion cooking. Rather, my menu is fusion. It has a great variety of Asian cuisine, almost like a photo album of my
travel in Asia.
ASTV: Though you are a non-Asian, you are well known as an expert in tofu dishes. What got you interested in tofu?
JK: Tofu is like a blank piece of paper. It’s all about the texture since it does not have much flavor. Tofu is easy to flavor and that’s why I love cooking tofu dishes. I usually make my own tofu or use Chinese tofu and marinate them. When I started to play with tofu dishes and added them to my menu, I was surprised that quite a few people ordered it. It was more popular as an appetizer than an entrée. Many of my customers are Asians and vegetarians. But it’s not only Asians who are fond of tofu, once a Western businessman ordered a tofu dish and even called me to the table to talk about it. With the advent of protein-oriented diets, I think tofu is a nice option. Steamed Tofu with Cashews and Miso is one of my favorites.
ASTV: What was your most unforgettable culinary experience?
JK: Sitting in Kyoto in one of the temples called Daitokuji-ikkyu and waiting for a 12 course tofu menu cooked by one of the monks!! And what was more interesting is they have been doing tofu meals since the1400s. They cook these meals to supply extra revenue to
support monks.
ASTV: What is the most popular dish at Pulse?
JK: Sake Grilled Beef Short Ribs (recipe). They are really good! To prepare it, we braise the meat with shallots, garlic and sake. Then we debone the meat and take out the fat so it’s just a chunk of meat. We grill it and then add an oyster base sauce and it turns out to be really delicious.
ASTV: How do you plan to celebrate Mother’s Day?
JK: I am taking a day off and spending the day with my mother. She loves when I cook, so I am planning to cook for her; maybe a barbeque dish.
ASTV: What’s next for you?
JK: Maybe a cookbook sometime soon!
ASTV: Your family is very well known in the culinary world. Your grandfather owned the legendary Raphil’s, your mother was Miami’s premier restaurant publicist and your stepfather is an award winning cookbook author. Can you tell us how they have
influenced you?
JK: My stepfather, Steven Raichlen, has been a great influence throughout my culinary journey. He got me interested when I was very young. My chores were to break down leftover roast chicken to make stock! I’d say my training started when my stepfather took me to restaurants where we made a game out of guessing what was in our food. I was a very mischievous kid, so I was grounded many times. And as punishment, I was given tedious prep work for recipe testing. But I enjoyed it so much. I never let anyone at home know how much I liked their punishments (Laughs).
Also, when my stepfather went around to 32 countries to do research for his famous book “Barbeque Bible”, he came back with interesting barbeque recipes from Southeast Asia as well. This really intrigued me and inspired me to focus on grilling as well as travel around
Southeast Asia.
ASTV: You’ve traveled and worked in many places. What took you to Hong Kong? And how did you manage to handle a restaurant as the Executive Chef at an age of 23?
JK: I was offered the position of Executive chef for Miami Spice in Hong Kong. The restaurant was opened based on my stepfather’s book of the same name. I had a language as well as a cultural interpreter in Hong Kong who helped me understand the environment and run a kitchen with an all Chinese staff. Managing a restaurant for me is being able to gain respect of co-workers. This was my approach in Hong Kong as anywhere else.
ASTV: How do you define your cuisine? What inspires you to create them?
JK: I’d define my cuisine as “Asian food cooked through the eyes of an American.” It’s not Asian fusion. I always want to draw a parallel line between Western and Asian cuisine. So, I associate Chinese cuisine with French since both are more sauce based and have an elaborate style of cooking. Japanese cuisine has a theme similar to that of Italian food. Both emphasize fresh, simple and clean flavors. For me, Chinese dishes stay in the spirit of Chinese cuisine and Japanese dishes in the spirit of Japanese cuisine. So, it’s not exactly fusion cooking. Rather, my menu is fusion. It has a great variety of Asian cuisine, almost like a photo album of my
travel in Asia.
ASTV: Though you are a non-Asian, you are well known as an expert in tofu dishes. What got you interested in tofu?
JK: Tofu is like a blank piece of paper. It’s all about the texture since it does not have much flavor. Tofu is easy to flavor and that’s why I love cooking tofu dishes. I usually make my own tofu or use Chinese tofu and marinate them. When I started to play with tofu dishes and added them to my menu, I was surprised that quite a few people ordered it. It was more popular as an appetizer than an entrée. Many of my customers are Asians and vegetarians. But it’s not only Asians who are fond of tofu, once a Western businessman ordered a tofu dish and even called me to the table to talk about it. With the advent of protein-oriented diets, I think tofu is a nice option. Steamed Tofu with Cashews and Miso is one of my favorites.
ASTV: What was your most unforgettable culinary experience?
JK: Sitting in Kyoto in one of the temples called Daitokuji-ikkyu and waiting for a 12 course tofu menu cooked by one of the monks!! And what was more interesting is they have been doing tofu meals since the1400s. They cook these meals to supply extra revenue to
support monks.
ASTV: What is the most popular dish at Pulse?
JK: Sake Grilled Beef Short Ribs (recipe). They are really good! To prepare it, we braise the meat with shallots, garlic and sake. Then we debone the meat and take out the fat so it’s just a chunk of meat. We grill it and then add an oyster base sauce and it turns out to be really delicious.
ASTV: How do you plan to celebrate Mother’s Day?
JK: I am taking a day off and spending the day with my mother. She loves when I cook, so I am planning to cook for her; maybe a barbeque dish.
ASTV: What’s next for you?
JK: Maybe a cookbook sometime soon!