Chef Richard Hales has certainly made a name for himself. He’s at the helm of Miami-based Sakaya Kitchen as well as Midtown Chinese, also known as Blackbrick, a Foodable Top 25 restaurant that was named one of Bon Appetit’s “America’s Best New Restaurants” in 2014.

Part Italian, part Irish, and part Pacific Islander (Filipino), Hales’ background has played a huge role in his inspiration and influence in the culinary world. “My grandmother is Filipino,” he says. “So I grew up eating the flavors of Filipino food — vinegars, soy, chiles, the balanced flavor that you find typically in Asian food.”

Growing up in an American household, Hales was privy to both Asian cuisine and continental American cuisine. “Just combining those two cuisines growing up, it really shows in my food where it becomes playful, where I do American dishes that I grew up with and then I use an Asian, Korean, Chinese, Filipino pantry to create the dish.”