Akira Back (born Sung Ook Back in 1974 in

Seoul, Korea Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...

), is a

chef A chef is a trained professional cook and tradesman who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term ''chef de cuisine'' (), the director or head of a kitche ...

Early life

Back was born and raised in

. He took a serious interest in

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

at a young age and decided to move to

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

to pursue it. Back's baseball career ended shortly afterward, when his father's business took their family to the U.S. in 1989, eventually ending up in

Aspen, Colorado Aspen is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 7,004 at the 2020 United States Census. Aspen is in a remote area of the Rocky Mounta ...

. At age 15, Back began his

snowboarding Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralympi ...

career and spent 7 years on the professional snowboarding circuit. He appeared in various extreme sports movies. During the same period, he worked at the local Japanese restaurants to supplement his earnings. This motivated him to pursue a culinary career. He enrolled at The Art Institute in Colorado to study at the International Culinary School. It is also stated that he studied under Iron Chef

Masaharu Morimoto is a Japanese chef, best known as an Iron Chef on the Japanese TV cooking show ''Iron Chef'' and its spinoff '' Iron Chef America''. He is also known for his unique style of presenting food. Career Morimoto received practical training in sush ...

Culinary career

After ending his snowboarding career, Back went on to study at the International Culinary School at

The Art Institute of Colorado The Art Institute of Colorado was a for-profit art and culinary school in Denver, Colorado. It briefly operated as a non-profit institution before it closed in 2018. The school was one of a number of Art Institutes, a franchise of for-profit ar ...

. In 1993, he began his first culinary job working at Kenichi in

Aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section ''Populus'', of the ''Populus'' genus. Species These species are called aspens: *'' Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China ...

as sushi prep cook. He was later recruited to Kenichi in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

and then in

Kona, Hawaii Kailua-Kona is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States. It is also known as Kailua (a name it shares with a community located on the windward side of Oahu), as Kona (a name it shares ...

, where he worked as the opening chef. In 2008, Back debuted Yellowtail Japanese Restaurant & Lounge, Chef Akira Back at

Bellagio Resort & Casino Bellagio is a resort, luxury hotel and casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned by The Blackstone Group and operated by MGM Resorts International. Bellagio was conceived by casino owner Steve Wynn, and was built on the form ...

in Las Vegas. Featured dishes include Big Eye Tuna Pizza, Lobster Carpaccio, and Kobe Beef Tataki, among others. Yellowtail's celebrity clientele includes Taylor Swift, Eva Longoria, Wilmer Valderrama, Pink & Carey Hart, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, Kelly Osbourne, David Arquette, Ryan Kewanten and Joe Jonas. In 2017, Back's Dosa earned a

Michelin Star The Michelin Guides ( ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The acquisition or loss of a ...

. He has opened restaurants under his name, Akira Back, in different countries such as the US, UAE and South Korea.

''Iron Chef''

During the 2006 Food & Wine Magazine Classic in Aspen, a producer of ''

Iron Chef America ''Iron Chef America'' is an American cooking show based on Fuji Television's ''Iron Chef'', and is the second American adaptation of the series, following the failed ''Iron Chef USA'' that aired in 2001. The show is produced by Food Network, whi ...

'' approached Back after tasting a menu that Back had presented. On March 16, 2008, Back appeared on the show together with

Bobby Flay Robert William Flay (born December 10, 1964), is an American celebrity chef, restaurateur, and reality television personality. Flay is the owner and executive chef of several restaurants and franchises, including Bobby's Burger Palace, Bobby's ...

, saying that he loved it and "grew up with it".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Back, Akira Living people People from Seoul American people of Korean descent American chefs 1974 births Head chefs of Michelin starred restaurants