IWAKUNI, Japan - One of the past stories in this series took a look into Seiji Shoya, Club Iwakuni supervisor, but he was only one of the supervisors at Club Iwakuni.
Our last chef in this series is Yasunobu Asaeda, Club Iwakuni supervisor, who is responsible for supervising one half of the entire kitchen, and just like Shoya, he can perform any task in the kitchen.
"I call him my 'Jack of all Trades' because he does a little bit of everything," said John Bass, Club Iwakuni catering director. "If he's on the line and sees a dish go out the way it shouldn't, he will stop it, have the cook fix it and then send it out. He doesn't let anything come off the line that isn't exactly the way it's supposed to be."
With his 14 years of experience at the club, there is one aspect Asaeda enjoys about his job.
"I help improve the qualities of other chefs by teaching them," said Asaeda. “It’s hard being a supervisor because I want to teach everyone in the kitchen, but there are too many people to keep track of.”
Even though numbers are against him, Asaeda’s true ability comes when his leadership inside helps to create a hard-working team.
"When Yasu is on the line, he pulls the chefs together, talks to them before they start the day and tells them what to expect," said Bass.
With his years of culinary experience and skills as a supervisor, Asaeda ensures that nothing goes to the customer until it is absolutely perfect.
"I've never heard any complaints about anything he's cooked," said Bass. "People don't really know him personally, but supervisors do get very good compliments from customers."
Marines are taught that the most important troop leading step for anything is to supervise. With one supervisor running each side of the kitchen, the satisfaction of patrons at Club Iwakuni will be kept to a high standard.