An Evening in Celebration of Chef Akira Hirose

Ray Hayashi is a Japanese American Southern California native and executive chef behind RYLA in Hermosa Beach, which he opened alongside his wife and culinary partner, Chef de Cuisine Cynthia Hetlinger. He spent nearly a decade working with chef David LeFevre, rising to R&D chef across several acclaimed South Bay restaurants including MB Post, Fishing with Dynamite, and The Arthur J. Drawing from his Japanese heritage and extensive experience in some of Los Angeles’ most celebrated kitchens, Hayashi now brings a deeply personal and collaborative vision to RYLA.

eatryla.com | @raycooksclams

Born and raised in Southern California, Gary Matsumoto returned to the area in 2022 after spending almost thirty years in Hawaii. A graduate of the University of Southern California and the Kapiolani Community College Culinary Arts program, his experience in food and beverage runs the gamut of the industry. Training and progressing in the kitchen at Alan Wong’s Honolulu, he has also served as a Chef de Cuisine, Executive Chef, General Manager, Food & Beverage Director, and consultant, across a spectrum of different properties.

@gmatsumoto512

As a native Angeleno and fourth-generation Japanese American, Chris Ono’s work reflects a deep connection to his heritage and a commitment to celebrating Japanese American culture through the lens of L.A. Nikkei cuisine. A graduate of the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco, he embarked on a Michelin-starred journey early in his career, holding notable positions at Morihiro Onodera’s Mori Sushi in Los Angeles, RyuGin in Tokyo, and Eleven Madison Park in New York. Throughout his career, Ono has continued to draw inspiration from his roots, honoring and preserving Japanese culinary traditions while shaping his own contemporary voice.

@onollicious

Charles Namba was born and raised in Beverly Hills after his parents moved to Los Angeles from Japan in their early twenties. After building his career in New York and Los Angeles, he returned home to open Tsubaki in Echo Park in 2017 with his business partner, Courtney Kaplan, later expanding with the sister sake bar OTOTO. Deeply rooted in Japanese culture and cuisine, Namba has long honored his heritage while also exploring classical French technique, having worked at EN Japanese Brasserie in New York, trained at Chanterelle under Chef David Waltuck, and assisted in the opening of Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Beverly Hills. His newest restaurant, Camélia in Downtown Los Angeles, reflects his cross-cultural culinary perspective, blending refined French influences with Japanese technique in a warm, welcoming setting.

@charles_namba

Roy Yamaguchi was born and raised in Tokyo, Japan. He is revered for his culinary skills and is known as the innovator of Hawaiian inspired cuisine, an eclectic blend of California-French-Japanese cooking traditions created with fresh ingredients from the Islands. He was honored with the James Beard "Best Pacific Northwest Chef" Award in 1993. Yamaguchi has earned honors including California Chef of the Year (California Restaurant Writers Association), Gault-Millau Top 40 (Forbes FYI), Top 50 Cuisines in America (Conde Nast Traveler), Fine Dining Hall of Fame (Nation's Restaurant News) and the John Heckathorn Dining Excellence Award (Honolulu Magazine).

royyamaguchi.com | @chefroyyamaguchi