WEDNESDAY,JUNE25,2003 NEWS THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN - 3 . DINING Restaurant owner hooks well-traveled sushi chef By Richard Gintowt rgintowt@kansan.com Kansan staff writer Richard Gintowt/Kansan To be a great sushi chef, one must work quickly. To be a great sushi restaurant owner, one must be able to find great sushi chefs quickly when former sushi chefs walk out on the job. Wa's new sushi chef, Fumiharu Hirose, shows off a sashimi dish that features a variety of fish with wasabi sauce and sliced radish. Fumi, who is skilled in both Japanese and French cooking, took over as head chef last week. That not-so-ancient proverb describes the past couple of weeks at Wa Restaurant Inc., 740 Massachusetts St. , Former head sushi chef Su-Ken quit on June 5, making Wa a sushi bar without a sushi chef. "Word got around fast," said hostess Jessica Johnson, Salina graduate. "I think a lot of the regulars still don't think we are open." Thanks to new head sushi chef Fumiharu Hirose, Wa is getting a second wind. The restaurant reopened for business Friday with Chef Fumi โ€” pronounced 'Who me' โ€” at the reins. Fumi, 57, brings four decades of experience in Japanese and French cooking to the restaurant. A humble man who speaks in broken yet thoughtful English, Fumi also carries with him the lessons of a long and turbulent personal history. Fumi's life in the restaurant business began during his early childhood in Tokyo, delivering orders on bike from his father's Chinese noodle shop, also the family's home. Fumi and his brother studied cooking, French and Chinese respectively, with the hope that they would one day combine their knowledge and open a restaurant together. But Fumi's plans changed quickly when he fell in love with an American woman. He married and moved to Seattle, where he found work preparing sauces and hors d'oeuvres at the Four Seasons Hotel. Fumi also discovered a second passion while working in Seattle: ice sculpture. He learned the art under the tutelage of world-champion Kimi Iizima and took fourth place at an international competition in Denver. He placed by sculpting a Viking boat in one hour 45 minutes. Fumi moved to Boston and opened two businesses: Something Fishy Restaurant and Narutomi Japanese Grocery. Both were successful, and before he was 40 he had amassed millions in wealth. But Fumi's luck changed suddenly when he lost his wife and child in a car crash in 1988. That tragedy, coupled with a failed business venture, touched off a dark time in his life that Fumi would just as soon forget. He moved to Kansas City, Kan., in 2002 to work as a sushi chef, but the restaurant that employed him did not make enough money to pay him. After eight months of unemployment, Fumi received a call from Wa owners Soo Yang and Bokyeong Park, who had heard about him through a mutual friend. Though candid when questioned, Fumi asked to keep details of his past to himself. "Now I am just cook," he said repeatedly. While Fumi's explanation is convenient, it is hardly adequate to describe the 15-hour workdays he has put in since arriving in Lawrence a week ago. Fumi's work ethic demands that he always put the customer first, no matter what he may be feeling inside. "Whenever I'm tired or exhausted or sad day or really happy day I have to keep going same rhythm," he said. "I'm not clown, but I have to do it." When it comes to preparing food, though, Fumi would have to be a clown to mask his pride. The restaurant's menu will change to accommodate Fumi's style, which combines elements of French and Japanese cooking. "I am number one," he said. "I never lose." "A Sushi chef can make it. Can you believe it?" he said, pointing to a French creme de l'anglaise dessert. - Edited by Saju Ng'alla THE MEAT REASON WE LOVE MEATS. THAT'S WHY WE SERVE ONLY 100% REAL, LEAN. QUALITY MEATS โ€” NEVER THAT CHUNKED AND PRESSED STUFE. AFTER ALL, YOU DON'T CHUNK AND PRESS THE THINGS YOU LOVE. WE DELIVER! NOW OPEN 1447 W. 23RD ST. - 838.3737 922 MASSACHUSETTS ST. - 841.0011 LAWRENCE JIMMYJOHNS.COM THE JIMMY JOHN LAWSFRIEND INC. "T HAT SURE DOESN'T SMELL LIKE A CIGARETTE YOU'RE SMOKING BOY." Legal Services for Students 864-5665ยท148 Burge Union JO HARDESTY, DIRECTOR BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT GETTING OUT OF THIS ONE ALONE.