Hello!
Welcome to my blog!
Yes, that’s the picture of me. I’m the real person behind this blog, and I’m just a regular guy enjoying the ride of this beautiful life.
My name is Fnu Ghaleib. Just call me Ghaleib, because FNU means First Name Unknown. I’m originally from Indonesia where many people have only one name. Uncle Sam (US) gave me the first name.
Yes, I still have the real day J.O.B. working as hibachi chef, and yes, I’m one of those who can cook meat, vegetable, and seafood dishes on a high-heat, metal cooking plate (also known hibachi grill or teppanyaki).
I have been in Asian culinary business since 2015. No culinary academic background, only experience speaks for itself. I used to be a table server, a dishwasher, and a kitchen helper. Now, I enjoy being a hibachi chef.
What is hibachi?
Literally, the meaning of hibachi is “Fire Bowl”. In culinary, hibachi is the cooking of meat, vegetable, and seafood dishes on a high-heat, metal cooking plate (also known as hibachi grill). This kind of grill can be portable or built into a furniture.
The other similar term of hibachi is Teppanyaki.
The word teppanyaki is derived from teppan, which means iron plate, and yaki, which means grilled, broiled or pan-fried.
Hibachi is more than a style of dining; it is an experience! One of the greatest things about hibachi is that your food is cooked in front of you by one of the outstanding chefs. The hibachi chefs attract the diners not only with their delicious food, but their maneuvers too.
The chefs always have something exciting done whether they are tossing food in the air, making a volcano out of sliced onions or showing off their knife skills.
Hibachi is simply a combination of cooking and entertainment.
The Journey.
Also, one of the fun parts when cooking on the hibachi grill is the interaction with the diners. Most of the time, they share their life stories, talk about their families and other silly stuffs, and even ask you about “your hibachi journey”.
My hibachi journey started when I was working in a Chinese restaurant in a small town in southern Illinois as a table server when the idea of becoming a hibachi came to my mind. The biggest challenge at that time was I never got a chance to attend a formal culinary school due to the long hours of work (average 60 to 70 hours a week).
I looked for the good sources to become a hibachi chef, but failed miserably. It had been really hard for me to find the hibachi chefs who want to share their knowledge and experience. Most of them just wanted to keep the “secret” for themselves. Now, I understand why they don’t want to share their knowledge and expertise. I was just too naive 😉
That’s all for now. If you have any questions about this blog, please contact me.
Thank you and have an awesome day!
