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"&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=\"font-size:11.0pt\"&gt;Of Filipino descent, &lt;strong&gt;Richard Hales&lt;/strong&gt; (43) has always been drawn to Asian culture and cuisine. Upon traveling to Asia as a teenager, Hales\u2019 culinary passion was ignited and as he developed as a chef, his cooking style reflected those early Eastern influences. Nearly 30 years later, Hales can be credited with inspiring a wave of refined Asian-fusion cuisine in Miami with the openings of &lt;strong&gt;Sakaya Kitchen&lt;/strong&gt; and&lt;strong&gt; Dim Ss\u00E4m \u00E0 gogo&lt;/strong&gt;. Born in Louisiana and raised in Tampa, Hales applies his formal culinary training with his experiences abroad to his family of restaurants, using local organic ingredients to create traditional Asian flavors.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=\"font-size:11.0pt\"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=\"font-size:11.0pt\"&gt;In his early 20\u2019s, Hales owned and operated a small bakery delivery business in Tampa. &amp;nbsp;At the age of 26, with a desire to immerse himself in the culinary world, Hales sold the bakery and packed a bag for New York City. Shortly after, he enrolled in the French Culinary Institute, now the International Culinary Center.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=\"font-size:11.0pt\"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=\"font-size:11.0pt\"&gt;Upon graduating with a culinary arts degree in 1998, Hales took his first cooking job at City Wine &amp;amp; Cigar in New York. Before long, he was drawn to Jean-Georges Vongerichten and the Thai-inspired French cuisine at Vong. Hales longed to work with the world-renowned chef and applied for a position. Initially turned away for his lack of experience, Hales wouldn\u2019t take no for an answer, following Vongerichten around the kitchen until he was given the position of garde manger. Hales moved through the ranks at Vong \u2013 from garde manger to entrementier chef, poissionnier and saucier \u2013 before becoming sous chef. Hoping to learn more and refine his classic training, Hales left Vong in 2000 to take the position of rotisseur, later promoted to saucier, at La Grenoiulle, one of New York\u2019s finest and most historic French restaurants.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=\"font-size:11.0pt\"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=\"font-size:11.0pt\"&gt;During his years working in the Big Apple, Hales widened his scope of Asian culture and cuisine taking annual trips to Asia, traveling to Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Korea, Hong Kong, China and Japan, staging at kitchens to pick up techniques that he would later incorporate in his restaurants. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=\"font-size:11.0pt\"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=\"font-size:11.0pt\"&gt;After a year at La Grenoiulle, Hales was asked to be the Asian Chef of Caf\u00E9 Sambal in the new Mandarin Oriental, Miami. Later that year, Hales became the assistant manager at Azul, the hotel\u2019s critically-acclaimed fine dining restaurant. When the sommelier of Azul left in 2001, Hales took over the wine program, seizing the opportunity to further his wine education and visit wineries all over the world \u2013 France (Burgundy, Champagne, Loire and Alsace); Germany (Mosel, Rheingau); Italy (Piemonte, Tuscany, Maremma, Fruili, Chianti); Chile (Casa Blanca Valley, Maipo Valley, Colchagua Valley); Argentina (Mendoza); and California (Napa Valley, Sonoma Valley). After four years as sommelier, Hales left South Florida and returned to the concrete jungle as Wine Director of the Mandarin Oriental, New York. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u00A0&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=\"font-size:11.0pt\"&gt;With the desire to operate his own restaurant, Hales left New York in 2008 and returned to the sun and sand of Miami. He also returned to his first love \u2013 Asian flavors \u2013 and developed the fast-casual, Korean-style street food concept that would become Sakaya Kitchen.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style=\"font-size:11.0pt\"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style=\"font-size:11.0pt\"&gt;Sakaya Kitchen&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;span style=\"font-size:11.0pt\"&gt; opened in 2009 with a quality and chef-driven menu introducing Hales\u2019 take on Korean street food cuisine to Miami diners who flocked to the small Midtown storefront location. As other similar concepts started to develop in the area, Hales took the idea one step further by launching the city\u2019s first Asian food truck &lt;strong&gt;Dim Ss\u00E4m \u00E0 gogo&lt;/strong&gt; in 2010, combining his no frills fare with the convenience of a food truck. Following the success of the Midtown location, Hales opened Sakaya Kitchen in Downtown Miami in 2011. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=\"font-size:11.0pt\"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=\"font-size:11.0pt\"&gt;Always the pioneer, Hales has accomplished his latest mission; giving authentic Chinese dishes a fresh look with his latest concept, &lt;strong&gt;Blackbrick&lt;/strong&gt; \u2013 a sit down, casual yet elegant, eatery opened in Midtown Miami December 2013.&amp;nbsp; Emily Codik of the Miami New Times says \u201CBlackbrick in Midtown is the Chinese food you have been waiting for.\u201D&amp;nbsp; Victoria Pesce Elliot of the Miami Herald and contributing writer to Food and Wine magazine gave a \u201Cvery good 3 stars\u201D to Blackbrick.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=\"font-size:11.0pt\"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=\"font-size:11.0pt\"&gt;Hales has appeared on Food Network\u2019s Drive ins, Diners and dives, Americas\u2019s best bite, 24 hour layover with Anthony Bourdain, Fast Casual Nation, The great food truck race, Eat street, NBC The Feast, CBS 4, WSVN Channel 10.&amp;nbsp; Recipes published and features in Bon Appetit, Food and Wine magazine, NY Post, Miami Herald, Miami New Times, Andrew Zimmern St Paul Magazine, Delta Sky Magazine.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.sakayakitchen.com/?p=1231>