As chef and general manager, Gary Chu oversees all aspects of the operations at both his family's properties; Gary Chu's Gourmet Chinese Cuisine and Osake California Style Japanese Restaurant. Trained in Osaka, Japan Gary brings a unique perspective to Asian cuisine preparation and presentation. Both restaurants offer "signature" dishes that are created seasonally incorporating the freshest and fi
nest ingredients available. The Chu family tradition of excellence started 1887 when Gary's great grandfather opened a small neighborhood eatery in the Shantung province of China. The family business was passed on to Gary's grandfather Young Chu who ran the business until 1947. The effects of the Chinese revolution forced my father and his family to flee to Manchuria in northeastern China" recalls Gary. The family stayed only long enough to escape to South Korea. It was there, in Korea, that Young Chu and his son Wei Chu opened the "East China" restaurant. The years passed, the Chu family migration continued to Japan and then Taiwan. "In our culture when you own a restaurant, the families' life revolved around the business. A person learned to cook by aroma more than anything else." In 1979, a restaurant owner secured the families sponsorship to the United States. However, by the time the family of six arrived in San Francisco's Chinatown the restaurant where they were to be employed was closed, the sponsor gone. The family settled 40 miles north of San Francisco in the small, mostly agricultural, town of Petaluma, CA. Gary, then 21 and as the eldest son, was responsible for supporting his immigrant family. Slowly, surely each member of the family obtained employment. Within a period three years they established their own, fourth generation, Chu family restaurant. In 1983 China Palace opened in downtown Santa Rosa, CA. After 8 years of gradual success, China Palace closed it's doors, only to reopen a mere 10 days later as Gary Chu's Gourmet Chinese Cuisine. The date to close the "old" restaurant and open the "new" restaurant was "chosen in accordance with the Chinese calender so we might be favored by the Gods, Gary recalled. " Since 1991, the year Gary Chu's opened, the restaurant has been "favored" as the north bay's premier Chinese restaurant. Instigated by his training in Japan, Chu launched his second property, also in Santa Rosa, Osake California Style Japanese Restaurant, in 1998. Three years in the making Osake's name was inspired by Sake (rice wine). In Japanese "O," when placed before any noun, means respect. Like the success Chu appreciated with Gary Chu's, Osake has received praise from food critics and clientele alike and was voted "Best New Restaurant" in Sonoma County in 1999. Currently Gary splits his time between both restaurants insuring their respective unequaled commitment to quality and creativity.
