Mark Dinh shares his recent venture as a personal chef, which now allows him to work alongside his mother. The turning point? An unexpected layoff due to the pandemic, prompting him to reassess his professional life.
Mark Dinh likes to say that he was literally born into the restaurant industry. His mother, Dana Shin, worked as a waitress at Yuan Palace, a Mongolian barbecue specialty restaurant in Centennial until her water broke. In fact, she delivered an order to a customer and then rushed to the hospital. "I was destined," Dinh notes in an interview with The Denver Post. Now 32 years old, he grew up working for his mother at Samurai, an all-you-can-eat sushi restaurant in Greenwood Village, which they opened and operated for nearly 10 years. He then attended the Culinary Institute of America in New York in 2008 before embarking on a career in kitchens in New York and Colorado, most recently at Matsuhisa in Denver.
But a few years ago, Dinh decided he was ready to start crafting his own menus with Fish On Rice, a high-end private omakase service specializing in home meals. It was a choice he made partly out of a desire to be his own boss and partly due to the pandemic's impact on the restaurant industry. And it paid off. "Sometimes you have to take risks," it’s his motto. Let's step back: after graduating from culinary school in 2011, Dinh stayed in New York to work at renowned restaurants like Le Bernardin and Morimoto. But he ran out of money and returned to Colorado, where at the age of 21, he took a job at Matsuhisa, an acclaimed Japanese restaurant owned by Chef Nobu Matsuhisa, in Vail. Less than a year later, he became the sous chef of the restaurant and stayed there for 2 and a half years before returning to Denver to help the team open the Cherry Creek location in 2016.
"Not only did I gained culinary skills, but I also learned to respect the product and produce quantity in a high-quality establishment," Dinh said. "Matsuhisa taught me how to create a customized experience for someone. We're there to ensure that people come back not only for the excellent food but also because the place makes them feel welcome and the staff remembers their preferences. And that's the foundation on which my business is built today. It's a kind of essential emotional connection, especially when you go to someone's home." When the pandemic led to restaurant closures worldwide, Dinh and other Matsuhisa employees were laid off. In an effort to preserve his mental well-being, he began crafting sushi and Japanese fusion dinners for his friends to enjoy in the familiarity of their homes. At the same time, Dinh started connecting with friends who had transitioned to private chef careers, which inspired him. So, even though he could have returned to Matsuhisa once the pandemic faded, he started working on a business plan and a menu for Fish on Rice, with the idea of bringing a private culinary experience to people's homes (after all, "Omakase" is a Japanese term that translates to "I'll leave it up to you to decide the meal").
He launched Fish On Rice in January 2021, and by December of the same year, he was so busy that he left his job at the restaurant. At Fish On Rice, Dinh offers an experience that includes multiple courses of sashimi, tempura, cooked fish, wagyu, sushi, and dessert. And unless you prefer a little surprise, the meal can be tailored to your taste. Dinh found his first guests, Jue and Kari Cao, through a friend who was gifting the Caos a sushi dinner. "The first dinner he cooked for us was truly a top-notch experience," Kari Cao said. "I wouldn't have spent that money on myself, but if you look at the quality of the experience and the fact that it's an all-night event, it's really worth it. Every time he comes, he has a different menu." "Since then, we've called him every two months to replicate it," adds Jue, mentioning that they had to book four months in advance for a February dinner. Last year, Dinh said he cooked around 200 dinners, and now he does an average of three to four per week. Typical dinners consist of a two-hour, 10-course meal that costs an average of €200 per person. But sometimes, customers have a special request for a more expensive menu item. For Jue's birthday, for example, Dinh served a rare cut of Olive Wagyu, a high-quality steak from Japanese cows fed with toasted olive peels. (A 450g Olive Wagyu ribeye can cost €400.) "At first, people are hesitant to spend €200 per person, but then they can't wait for the next dinner to come," Kari said.
Dinh's menus change seasonally but usually focus on high-quality fish and seafood that the chef directly sources from Maine. He likes to say that he creates dinners in three acts. The first act often consists of four sashimi dishes; the second act is nigiri, up to 10 pieces; and the third act involves hot dishes, with classic American dishes reimagined through the use of Japanese ingredients. Once he identifies a customer's taste, he adds some personal touches. "When you're a private chef, you actually omit the most expensive thing in a restaurant, rent, so I'm able to offer more quality items and a greater quantity," Dinh said. One of his most popular dishes is chicken karaage and waffles, a chicken thigh marinated overnight in soy, chilies and garlic, breaded and served inside a Belgian waffle with chili oil, maple syrup, and crème fraiche. How did he come up with that dish? "Some doctors, after drinking a lot of sake, asked me to make them chicken and waffles," Dinh said. "I like it when people throw a challenge at me." He also enjoys playing with his mother's recipes, a native of South Korea who moved here when she was 16. Dinh took his mother's kimchi recipe and made a tomato kimchi soup with American-style grilled cheese.
He adds a personal touch by bringing homemade desserts made by his mother to share with his clients. Like her son, Shin decided to pursue her passion during the pandemic and started cooking. Despite being self-taught, her culinary creations showcase complexity and a fusion of global flavors. She makes langues de chat cookies (cat's tongues shaped cookies), green tea tiramisù, cake pops, crème brulée doughnut, mochi ice cream, and delicious layered cheesecakes. "I spent most of my life working in restaurants, and I didn't spend much time with Mark growing up, which I always felt guilty about, but working with him finally gives me the time to make up for it as I always wanted," Shin said. While Dinh loves the blank canvas and the freedom that being a private chef offers, he dreams of returning to the restaurant, but on his own terms. He would like to open a bakery for his mother with a speakeasy omakase restaurant in the back, so that both of them can pursue their passions side by side.
*Cover photo for illustrative purpose
