Culinary Passions

Three top chefs at The Boca Raton speak to what inspires them to craft memorable dining experiences.

BY NILA DO SIMON

TAKAO SOEJIMA, CHEF DE CUISINE AT JAPANESE BOCCE CLUB

It all started because of a friend of a friend. Chef Takao Soejima was a newly minted high school graduate in Japan when his father’s small business fell on hard times and Soejima needed to quickly earn a living. With a desire to see the world, Soejima asked his father’s friend if he knew of anyone who could hire him to work in the United States. Turns out, there was a friend of a friend who needed help at a restaurant across the globe in Jupiter, Florida. “I just jumped on the plane, and I came to Florida,” Soejima says. During the day, Soejima performed a range of work at the restaurant—washing dishes, prepping food, busing tables, and more—and at night, he went to school to learn English. After a few years at the Jupiter restaurant, Soejima became a sushi chef in 1989, a profession he had admired since he was a young boy in Japan. “I’ve always loved sushi,” he says. “After school, my friends would want to go to get a burger, but I just wanted a sushi roll. I just wanted to eat a cucumber roll.” A part of The Boca Raton since 2008, Soejima is regarded as one of the country’s finest sushi chefs, with more than 34 years of sushi-making experience in both traditional Japanese sushi and modern American-style sushi.

BIGGEST MENTOR:

“Chef Masaharu Morimoto, the famous Iron Chef. His Philadelphia restaurant had an opening in 2003, and I sent in my resume. Morimoto called me up and asked me to work there. From there, I worked alongside Morimoto for the next 17 years.”

SIGNATURE DISHES AT JAPANESE BOCCE CLUB:

“There are so many good dishes from the hot kitchen, but my biggest culinary passion is sushi. I recommend the Chef Selection, which comes with a chef choice of signature maki and assorted nigiri.”

THE SECRET SAUCE AT JAPANESE BOCCE CLUB:

“Fresh fish is flown in from Japan twice a week, and our property also works with local fishermen who supply us with local fresh fish.”

MOST THANKFUL FOR:

“Our team, including our sous chefs and support staff who assist me and the restaurant. Without them, I can’t run this restaurant. They produce a lot of quality menu items from the hot kitchen, which allows me to focus on the sushi.”

ADAM PILE, CHEF DE CUISINE AT PRINCIPESSA RISTORANTE

Although much changed during The Boca Raton’s recent transformations, one thing that has remained constant is Chef Adam Pile’s storied tenure at the property’s restaurants. The 20-year culinary veteran at The Boca Raton has held positions within the property’s most distinct restaurants, including 27 Blue, the original restaurant at Top of the Tower. Today, Pile brings not just his culinary know-how as chef de cuisine at Principessa Ristorante, but also his deep appreciation of the property’s evolution. “It’s been great seeing where the resort is going and where the restaurants are going,” Pile says. “In my 20 years, there has been a lot of change—restaurants are modern and up to date—but there still is a classic touch and attention to service detail that hasn’t changed.”

BIGGEST MOTIVATION:

“Both the culinary team and the diners. We have a lot of new, creative members in the kitchen, and it’s exciting to see the new things they are doing. At the same time, it’s nice to develop relationships with members and guests. There are some families with kids I have known since when they were tiny, and now they are going to college.”

EARLIEST CULINARY MENTOR:

“Both my grandmas are excellent cooks. As a kid, I was constantly in the kitchen, and seeing them cook was always inspiring.”

NOTABLE INSPIRATIONS:

“Ingredients inspire me. We have some great relationships with local farms, like Swank Farms. I just received some absolutely amazing tomatoes from Jodi Swank; what do you need to do to it? Not much. You start with great ingredients, and try not to screw them up.”

FUTURE FOCUS:

“We recently started serving brunch at Principessa Ristorante. The service is on Sundays, and offers an elevated brunch option, like a tower of exotic fruits, tiramisu-stuffed French toast, and carbonara-stuffed pizza.”

CHRISTOPHER MORAIN, CHEF DE CUISINE AT THE FLAMINGO GRILL

Florida-born Christopher Morain says the flavors of the Sunshine State run deep in his veins. That belief has made him the ideal representative at The Flamingo Grill, the mid-century American steakhouse that leans into Florida’s bright tastes. Since arriving at The Boca Raton in 2021, Morain has pushed the restaurant forward, providing what he calls “superb quality in a luxurious but approachable way.” It’s a standard that has served him well throughout his career, one that has even brought on praise from Emeril Lagasse, who, after tasting one of Morain’s dishes, insisted on coming back into the kitchen to say, “my compliments to the chef.”

BIGGEST VICE:

“I buy too many food-related books. I get so excited and get stuck on one page for two weeks, and then during that time, I find another book that I love and want to read, so I can never get through one book. I just love those books, though. They are so simple that they’re beautiful.”

ORIGIN STORY OF A DISH:

“At The Flamingo Grill, we want to respect the history of cuisine in America, and preserve it. One of the best examples of that is a newer dish on the menu. I travel to New Orleans quite a bit and love the city’s connection with food, and now there’s a spicy gumbo dish with blue crab and andouille sausage with rice on The Flamingo Grill menu.”

FUTURE FOCUS:

“Chef Will Cox, the executive chef of signature restaurants, and I are really trying to push the quality here, making it approachable yet luxurious. We’ve started to see the true potential of this place, and we have the right recipe of the team and executives who are supporting us.”