Wilson Chan
Wilson has never had a job that did not deal with food and probably never will. Growing up eating his mom’s excellent meals, he quickly found out how much he likes to eat. His father owned and cooked at Kapiolani Bowl Fountain where Wilson first worked at the ripe old age of 10. It wasn’t until senior year in high school after taking Home Economics (an “easy A”) that Mrs. Shimogawa (the class’ teacher) interested him to consider Food and Beverage as a career. Wilson is now the executive chef and is responsible for creating a majority of the menu. His mission with ZenShu is to create a new a fresh dining experience for “foodies”.
Wilson is a 1995 graduate of McKinley High School, graduated from Kapiolani Community College in 1998 with an Associate Degree of Science in Culinary Arts, graduated from University of Hawaii Manoa in 2000 with a Bachelors of Science in Travel Industry Management, and graduated from the Universtiy of Phoenix in 2005 with a Masters in Business Administration. Wilson worked at Hilton Hawaiian Village and completed their Management Trainee Program and then went on to work at First Hawaiian Bank’s executive dining room, The Bankers Club, as an Assistant Dining Room/Beverage Manager.
Ryuji Murayama
Ryuji is the head sushi chef at ZenShu. Although he has learned sushi the traditional way, he also aims to create new and innovative sushi dishes for his customers. His rapport with his customers is always pleasant, and atmosphere on the sushi bar is always a stress-free and easy going one. As long as you have room to eat, Ryuji will fill you up with great and exciting sushi.
At the age of 13, Ryuji worked at Sada Restaurant (His uncle was the owner) as a Dishwasher, Busser and Server. When he was 17, he was moved into the kitchen, and at 18 he moved to the sushi bar. After a short time there, Ryuji traveled to Japan and trained in sushi for 2 years there. At 20, he came back to Hawaii and worked at Sada for 2 years. He then spent 3 years at Naniwaya and then 2 years at Kotose. When he was 27, Ryuji went to work at Yohei Sushi and apprenticed under Kazuto Obara for 12 years.
Jon Tsuda
Jon is the Business and Operations manager, he takes care of the much envied and extensive “paperwork”, which included all office work, Human Resources, banking, insurance, marketing and advertising, public relations, and (thanks to his “handyman” father) the resident “Mr. Fixit”. He is also the “Freelancer”, filling in at all duties (kitchen, sushi bar, bar) when the need for an extra hand arises.
Jon is a 1993 graduate of Pearl City High School and graduated from the University of Puget Sound in 1997 with a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education. Intending on pursuing a career in Physical Therapy, he worked as a Physical Therapy Aide at Hawaii Physical Therapy from 1997-1999. During this time he attended massage school and got his Massage license in 1998. He then was recruited by a friend to be a Personal Trainer and Massage Therapist at the CenterClub, First Hawaiian Bank’s executive fitness center. He soon became the supervisor and the business/office manager of the club while keeping his personal training and massage therapy duties. While starting up ZenShu, he and Wilson were recruited to become interim Business/Office Manager and General Manager, respectively, at Sergio’s Italian Restaurant at the Hilton Hawaiian Village.