Anyone with even a passing familiarity with the teppanyaki style of dining would know
that Benihana is the king of table side cooking. Their chefs put on a show for diners, while
also preparing some truly delicious food. The restaurant also has some interesting history
behind it. These are the top ten untold truths of Benihana.
The founder used to wrestle
Most people who get into the restaurant game start out as cooks, clerks, or even sometimes
just opportunistic businessmen. Just look at Ray Kroc, he went from being a semi-successful
milkshake machine salesman to basically stealing a business right out from under two brothers'
noses. It makes sense, after all. If you work in the restaurant industry, then you probably
know a thing or two about how to make a restaurant successful. However, it might surprise you
to learn that the founder of Benihana was not actually a businessman or even a restaurant
worker in his early days. In fact, he was doing something very different with his time. Hiroaki
“Rocky” Aoki, the founder of Benihana, was actually a professional wrestler. We're
not talking about WWE style wrestling, either. Aoki was a serious athlete, earning a spot
on Japan's national Olympic team in 1960. He was headed to Rome to compete in the games
that year, but due to the fact that he was above the weight for his class, he was unable
to compete. Instead of returning home, Aoki headed to the United States, where his talent
for wrestling allowed him to win several titles over the next few years. It just goes to show
that you don't necessarily have to start out as a cook to make it big in the restaurant
game. All you need is a vision, and maybe some solid grappling skills.
He also used to drive an ice cream truck
Of course, you can't really make it in the restaurant business if you don't have a little
bit of seed money. Starting a business takes time and an investment that most people simply
can't afford. When Aoki made the decision to get into the restaurant business, he knew
that he would have to do something in the meantime to make money in order to fund his
dream. The solution to that problem was one that probably drives down your street every
day in the summer - an ice cream truck. Aoki had moved to New York and was studying restaurant
management at New York City Technical College. He was already chasing his dream, and he was
determined to make it happen. In order to raise money to invest in a new venture., Aoki
started driving a Mister Softee ice cream truck in Harlem. Aoki was determined to make
his dreams happen, and this was the best way to do it. He put his own spin on the ice cream
by serving it adorned with tiny Japanese umbrellas. Of course, during the early 1960s, Harlem
was a much more dangerous area of the city, and the crime rate in New York was already
very high. To deter any would-be robbers, Aoki posted a message on his truck letting
them know that he was a wrestling champion, so anyone who wanted to steal from him would
be in for a pretty intense fight. In the end, Aoki managed to gather up $10,000 for himself,
enough to make a serious investment in starting a business.
It is named after a special flower
Benihana might not have made it without that name. Just like the way Ray Kroc idolized
the name 'McDonald's, there's something about the way Benihana just rolls off the tongue.
It sounds exotic, and yet welcoming at the same time. That's obviously the kind of thing
that Aoki was going for. However, most people probably don't even realize that Benihana
actually is a Japanese word and not a proper noun. The name actually comes from something
very personal to Aoki and tied to Japanese history all at once. When Aoki was young,
his parents owned a coffee shop that was also named Benihana, and where they got the name
for their coffee shop originally is both sad and beautiful. The shop was open during World
War II, when Japan was fighting against the Allies. After the bombing of Tokyo, Aoki's
parents looked out at the remains of the city. There, in all of the destruction, Aoki's mother
and father saw a single red flower growing out of the rubble. It was taken as a symbol
of endurance, and it became the inspiration for naming their shop. Benihana is actually
the word for Japanese red safflower, which was the plant that had grown through the rubble.
By naming his restaurant Benihana as well, the young Aoki was carrying on the tradition
his parents started.
Muhammad Ali was an early fan
Anyone who has watched any episodes of Restaurant Makeover or Kitchen Nightmares knows that
starting a restaurant is a risky venture. There is absolutely no guarantee that your
business is going to succeed instead of others. It is always a big step to give everything
up and start a restaurant because the initial investment is so high, that you might even
end up losing money for months before actually making any of it back. That was the problem
facing Aoki, whose first Benihana location struggled, just like any other restaurant.
It was not attracting the kind of attention that he wanted, and what made the restaurant
memorable to crowds for years was what was keeping people from going there. You couldn't
blame them, really. The idea of having a chef cook for you and a bunch of strangers right
at your table was not something that American diners were prepared for, or really all that
thrilled about seeing. However, some really good early press eventually turned things
around, as a review in the New York Times raved about the restaurant. Another big boost
to Benihana was the fact that Muhammad Ali was a huge fan of it. Considering just how
famous the boxer was in the 1960s, this was an amazing endorsement for the fledgling restaurant.
The Beatles were fans of Benihana too
As if having Muhammad Ali endorse Aoki's restaurant wasn't enough of a boost in the 1960s, he
also got some help from the Fab Four themselves. That's right, the Beatles were huge fans of
Benihana as well. John, Paul, George and Ringo often ate at the restaurant when they were
in New York. Just to put this in perspective, if the Beatles were eating at your restaurant
in the 1960s, that meant that you had pretty much made it. They were the most famous people
in the world at that point, enough so that John Lennon once said the band was "bigger
than Jesus." This celebrity endorsement gave Aoki a ticket
to ride all the way to success. His business was making money eight days a week. All it
took was a little help from his friends. Of course, Benihana only started getting bigger
from there. It was a revolution in dining. People wanted to come together and experience
just what this restaurant had to offer. People would come to Benihana for dinner even if
they had just been there yesterday. Quickly people discovered that settling in at Benihana
for a great dinner and some table side entertainment was the perfect way to unwind from a hard
day's night. Hopefully, we're conveying just how big of a deal this was.
Aoki sued four of his kids
Even though Benihana exploded in popularity, and became the go-to place for birthday parties
and all other kinds of celebrations, not everything was perfect in the Aoki family. In fact, behind
the scenes of the onion volcanoes and the shrimp tails in the chef hats, things were
actually quite turbulent for the Aoki family, especially much later on in the founder's
life. During his time as the owner of Benihana, Aoki embarked on several other business ventures,
though none of them were ever as successful as his restaurant. One of these ventures was
a "gentleman's" magazine called Genesis. Let's just say that it wasn't exactly the next Playboy. Aoki
also sponsored boxing matches and even independent plays that were taking place in New York at
the time. However, Aoki's business dealings were not always exactly legal, and in the
1990s, he was arrested and pleaded guilty to charges of insider trading. This forced
Aoki to step down from his position and put all of his Benihana shares into a trust. The
story only got more complicated, as in 2005, he sued four of his children, claiming that
they were trying to steal his money away from him. Of course, things were a lot more complicated
than that, as the kids claimed that Aoki's wife, their stepmother, was the one who was
actually trying to take control of all his money. It just goes to show that with success
comes complications, especially when family is involved.
He used to race power boats
Back to the lighter side of things, we've already mentioned how Aoki was a little bit
eclectic when it came to everything he did in his life. From wrestling to driving an
ice cream truck to starting a magazine and, of course, founding Benihana, there was just
no stopping this guy. Once his restaurant got big, and he no longer needed to take part
in any wild stunts in order to get customers in the door, Aoki decided to settle down.
Just kidding. He actually sought out even more thrills, this time in the form of racing
powerboats and cars in order to promote his restaurant. Just add it to the list of the
many things that Aoki did throughout his life, including being a bassist in a rock band!
Of course, doing all these things could sometimes get a little bit dangerous. After winning
a race off the coast of New Jersey in 1979, Aoki took his powerboat out for a test run
in San Francisco Bay. That time, things did not go well, and Aoki could have very well
lost his life. After the boat lost control and crashed, Aoki suffered from various injuries,
including a ruptured aorta, a lacerated liver and a leg broken in four places. Aoki, of
course, survived these injuries, and even though the things he did were often dangerous,
it just showed his adventurous spirit, the same one that made him such a success in the
first place.
Benihana chefs go through intensive training
Anyone who has had a meal at Benihana knows that part of the experience is watching the
chef pull off all those amazing culinary tricks. We're talking spatula flipping, onion volcanoes,
jumping shrimp, and the beating fried rice heart. You might think that becoming a chef
at Benihana would be really hard and that there would be a lot of intense training that
goes into learning the craft of cooking and entertaining at the same time. Well, you would
be right! Being a chef at Benihana is no joke, and the training regimen for new recruits
is a full-time job in itself. Five days a week, eight hours a day, chefs are trained
in the methods of cooking table side while also putting on a show for the customers.
How long does this training go on for? Up to six months! Imagine the amount of work
and effort that you would have to put into this training program. There are professional
chefs who trained like crazy so that they could specialize in a bunch of different cuisines,
and maybe even become bakers in addition to all of that. These guys are training for this
long just to work at one restaurant. But that's all just part of the appeal of Benihana. Having
a chef who really knows what they are doing and can offer up entertainment as well as
delicious food is part of the whole thing.
The founder's son is a famous DJ
We've mentioned the founder of Benihana, Rocky Aoki, several times so far, and you might
be thinking to yourself, "you know, that name sounds kind of familiar, but I'm not really
sure if I can put my finger on it”. Well, unless you're a fan of electro and pop music,
it might have gone right over your head that Aoki's son, Steve, is a famous DJ. Steve Aoki
has worked with artists from all over the pop music spectrum, including Lil Jon, Blink
182, Linkin Park, LMFAO, and will.i.am. Aoki has also done remixes of various different
artists, including Kid Cudi. Taking after his father's own humanitarian and environmentalist
efforts, Steve Aoki founded a charitable organization called the Steve Aoki Charitable Fund. As
an accomplished musician, Steve Aoki has been recognized for his work with a Grammy nomination
for his album, Wonderland. In addition to his son being famous, Rocky Aoki's daughter,
Devon Aoki, is also a famous model. Apparently, ambition is a familial trait, as these two
kids have just as much drive to succeed as their hardworking father.
The secret ingredient in Benihana’s fried rice
One of the main attractions at Benihana is their famous fried rice, which chefs will
often form into various shapes. You might think that wouldn't be very entertaining,
but come on! Have you seen them do the beating fried rice heart? It's pretty awesome. The
best part of the whole thing though is that after the chef plays with the fried rice for
a bit, you get to eat it. And that fried rice is so, so, so delicious. It's like there's
a little extra magic in the process that makes it taste extra delicious. You might think
that it comes from the fun of seeing the chef do all kinds of tricks with the food like
the whole experience is psychosomatic or something. However, there is actually a little extra
ingredient that goes into the fried rice to make it taste so good, and it's simpler than
you might think. The key to Benihana's fried rice tasting so delicious? Nothing more than
garlic butter, which, if you're a fan of garlic bread, you know can make anything taste a
million times better.
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