Chef Ron Tanaka has worked in some of the finest kitchens in D.C. Starting at Morrison-Clark Inn, he eventually found his way to Palena, Citronelle, and CityZen. He is currently the chef at Cork Wine Bar, where he serves up small plates to accompany a list chock full of Old World wines. We sat down to talk with the rather unassuming chef, who did not even want his picture used for this interview, as he likes to stay under the radar. (Trust us, we tried.)

How did you get into cooking?
Well... when I got out of prison... Actually, my sister used to work for The Washington Post Magazine, and I went on a photo shoot with her to the Morrison-Clark Inn. I thought, "Wow! This is kind of neat." And I started working brunches and I enjoyed it. I didn't go to culinary school; I went to the school of hard knocks.

You've worked in some of the city's most influential kitchens. I mean you've work with Frank Ruta (Palena), Michel Richard (Citronelle), and Eric Ziebold (CityZen). How have they influenced you?
They taught me everything. Whatever positive aspects I have, I owe to the people I worked for and under. They're not responsible for any of the negative stuff. I brought that with me. I'm very lucky to work for people who are such hard workers, and disciplined, and for sure, passionate.

Now we're seeing you coming into your on the Cork menu with the introduction of a few new dishes. What is your vision for the menu moving forward?
I mean food has been around for a long time. Some combinations work, some maybe don't work like bleu cheese and mangoes because they don't exist in the same world and season. People are ingenious and all the combos have been tried, and it's hard to invent something new.

What's on the plate isn't important. Food is a vehicle for the social experience. It's about who is sitting across the table. We try and supply a place to have a good time and socialize. The food shouldn't get in the way for good or bad. The most ingredient in cooking is love. It's palpable, something you can taste. We just try as hard as we can.

We're still in the process of finding our identity. We're into food that people enjoy eating and that we can be proud of. We want to do stuff that is challenging for our kitchen. Where we feel like we're maximizing the potential of what we can do.

Photo by Eric Denman

Yeah. About that kitchen. It seems that it rivals the one at Granville Moore's in sheer tininess. How do you manage it?
That's the fun part. You make adjustments. That's part of cooking on the fly. You just do it and you make it happen. There are organizational parts like timing and you have to plan it out. I don't know if we do a good job. We just pay attention to the the end of the time line. It has be off in this amount of time. It can't stay on all night long. We only have six burners, a fryer, and a grill.

The people that work there are really important to me, more than the food. The crew that is working there is incredible.

So what are you feelings about music in the kitchen?
I was trained in places where you don't talk. Nobody says anything, very serious. Here we have music. I don't mind it. When I have to focus I can block it out.

Most Asians grow up with pressure to become doctors, lawyers, engineers, and the like. I know I did. Did you face that? And how did you deal with it? (Tanaka is third-generation Japanese.)
Yes. That's the short story. But I was an astronaut, and I was on Apollo 14, and I designed the Mars Mariner. I discovered the light bulb and solved pi to 27 places. And I discovered light.

Are you going to keep on like that?
Yes.

So what is your home restaurant, the one that you go to all the time?
Bar Pilar. It's just up the street from Cork. So it's convenient.

Any guilty pleasures?
Spam is the new black.

Food is a very personal thing. It's just food, and it's something that I've heard from the beginning of my career. You can't take it too seriously. I take it seriously, but I don't trip out on it.