The Truth About Being A Chef At Benihana

A meal at Benihana is more than just a bite — it's dinner and a performance. That's exactly what Benihana founder Rocky Aoki had in mind when he envisioned a chain of restaurants that would bring a trend that was already popular in Japan to the U.S.: Wowing customers with artful presentation while serving them delicious teppanyaki-style (also now known as "hibachi-style") food. "At that time, in 1964, Americans were looking for something new, something different," Aoki told Forbes in a 2007 interview, a year before his death in 2008. "There [was] no entertainment in the dining room." It was about giving people a show, he explained. "Cook right in front of the customer ... Put the chef right in front of the customer."

How does Benihana find chefs for its nearly 80 locations who can dice and chop with swift precision, set food impressively aflame without burning the place down, and charm guests with corny jokes while doing it? Like any other job, most people simply apply and, if accepted, go through weeks of training. This is followed by actual trial-by-fire where they're put behind the grill in front of hungry patrons. Once hired, perks can include decent pay, impressive knife skills, and, perhaps, a boost in their social lives. On the downside, they could find themselves at the center of a multi-million dollar lawsuit over a shrimp toss gone awry (via the New York Post). What's the truth about being a chef at Benihana? Here's what we found out.

These days, if you're looking to become a teppanyaki master behind a Benihana Grill, you can start by applying online via the Benihana website, which lists all current job openings, including those for chefs. If you're selected after your in-person interview, there is a five-week program that shows you some of the basics, including, per the website, "advanced knife skills, scratch cooking mastery, and showmanship." Those with zero experience are out of luck — Benihana's not looking for complete newbies. A minimum of one year in a professional kitchen setting is required.

What are some of the tricks you might learn? While there doesn't appear to be an exact format each chef must follow, Keaton Patti, writing at Medium, broke down the most common moves we've come to expect from a Benihana chef, including clanking spatula-play, flashy egg-cracking, and fried rice served in the shape of a heart. There is also, of course, the celebrated onion volcano, in which a heap of "volcano oil" (don't worry, it's just canola oil mixed with a little Japanese kerosene) is poured into the center of a pyramid-style stack of onion rings. The chef lights a flame down the middle and, voila, Benihana's answer to Mount Vesuvius erupts into flames to the applause of impressed and hungry customers.

If you're seeking romance while working as a Benihana chef, the job could be ripe with opportunities. "I was propositioned a few times, but never followed through," one chef who said he "worked at a famous hibachi restaurant" claimed on Reddit. "The city I worked in was a vacation city, so there were a lot of lonely ladies who wanted to have fun with the chef." That user also posted that a co-worker even moved to Japan to live with one of the restaurant's female customers, where she became the chef's wealthy benefactor. How's that for a generous tip?

Still, they do need to watch it when it comes to flirting. There's no doubt that Benihana chefs want to avoid crossing the line and starting a potential fight in their place of business. "I had a coworker (he had a big mouth) almost get beat up because he was flirting with a girl who's [sic] boyfriend was sitting right next to her," the same Redditor recalled. "One time a lady asked me to throw a shrimp [down her shirt]. I kept refusing, but she kept insisting, so I obliged. Immediately her husband stood up and was like "What the hell?!?!?!"

Accidents are usually taken in stride, but Benihana was once sued when a former customer claimed that an incident turned deadly. Jacqueline Colaitis had been dining at a Benihana in Munsey, New York, in 2001 with her husband, Jerry, when, she asserted, Mr. Colaitis ducked to avoid being hit by a flying piece of shrimp. According to The New York Times, she alleged that the evasive maneuver resulted in a neck injury, which then required surgery. Post-surgery, he later died from blood poisoning. She sued Benihana for $16 million in damages for pain and suffering. 

Per NBC News, the plaintiff's attorney argued that "Benihana and only Benihana set in motion the forces ... that led to his death." Benihana's legal team, however, asserted that there was no substantial proof of that. The jury, for their part, reportedly took less than two hours to reach a conclusion, deciding against Mrs. Colaitis and in favor of Benihana. Benihana was sued again in 2010 over a fatal reaction to seafood suffered by a customer at a Memphis location, but prevailed in that case as well (via Justia).

The good news? Once you're a Benihana chef, you've got a pretty valuable set of skills, tricks, and showmanship abilities to bring with you anywhere else you may cook in the future. You can always return to your old gig at Benihana, too. One former Benihana chef, a 70-year-old woman named Ly, returned to hers due to the shortage of chefs caused by the Covid pandemic, SFGate reported. Former chefs were even offered a $250 signing bonus to come back.

The reason Benihana is extra motivated to woo former chefs back rather than hire new ones has everything to do with the amount of time it takes to train one. With the worker shortage in the restaurant industry, places like Benihana — whose chefs need to be as well-trained in entertaining as they are in meal preparation — are more in demand and harder to find than ever, according to The Takeout. So if you've ever been a Benihana chef and you're looking for work right now, check with your local Benihana outpost because chances are, you're in luck.

Benihana has loads of famous fans, including comedian Tracy Morgan, who has waxed utterly rhapsodic about it in his own endearing way. "This is my family," he told New York Magazine's Grub Street in 2012. "These people know me. This is fancy, man. They cook the food right in front of you." The midtown Manhattan location in particular, he added, is popular with his well-known group of pals. "Everybody comes here. L.L. comes here, Busta comes here. The Rock comes here. Everybody comes to this Benihana."

Like the rest of us, celebrities have been quick to catch on that Benihana is a great pick if you're dining with small children. Before their 2016 split, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie brought their own small brood while in London (via PopSugar). And while Benihana will cater to the stars, it doesn't kowtow to alleged rude or ridiculous behavior. When Tori Spelling sued Benihana over a 2014 visit with her family in which she claims she slipped on a grill and injured herself, requiring hospitalization, Benihana shot back. According to the Daily Mail, the restaurant sniped that Spelling had failed to "conduct herself as a reasonable guest" and demanded she pay Benihana's legal fees for the trouble. The two parties later agreed to mediation.