Sami Ladeki — No Ordinary Dish
by Ingrid Hoffmeister

Sami Ladeki has acquired a palate for gastronomical riches, which delights his diners from San Diego to Palm Springs. His creative dining concepts are married to exquisite interior design elements that have made his restaurants — Prime 10 Steakhouse, Maraskino, Fresh, Roppongi, Noodles Bar, among many others — not-to-be-missed dining experiences.

In 1989 he first demonstrated a talent for translating his observations into successful business by noticing how many people eat pizza in what he classifies as “rinky dink joints and hole-in-the-wall places.” With an expanded vision, he responded to the demand by opening a gourmet pizza restaurant in a gourmet setting, giving birth to his first Sammy’s Woodfired Pizza in La Jolla. His intention was to open only one restaurant, but the success of the concept and the demand of his customers “pushed” him to open more. The reward of expansion must have been hard to resist because today there are 16 Sammy’s Woodfired Pizza locations.

It’s a Wednesday afternoon in late October and the 60-year-old Ladeki and I are sitting at an outside table on the patio of his La Jolla restaurant Fresh, which occupies the space that once belonged to his Nuevo Latino restaurant Tamarindo. He transformed the space into an appropriately named, fresh seafood restaurant and bar after refreshing everything from interior design to staff and menu. He opened the restaurant in December of 2002 as his fourth specialty concept, bringing his stable count to 21, including Sammy’s Woodfired Pizza locations.

One of the first things I notice is Ladeki looking as refreshed as his restaurant. He appears toned and trimmer than the man I’ve glimpsed around town over the past years. I comment on his apparent weight loss and ask about his motivation. He shrugs his shoulders and makes light of it in a voice with a light accent that is not quite identifiable. “I just made up my mind, it was time,” he says. He is dressed in European style with a simple elegance that matches his reserved and somewhat cautious manner. His foreign accent and soft-pitched voice require I lean forward across the table to hear him and observe his large dark brown eyes roving around the patio. At first, I am puzzled by his distraction, but later realize he is registering the activities of his staff and clientele.

The first thing I grasp about Ladeki is that he prefers to be discreet and deflects from talking about personal matters. He finds it distasteful to flash around sales figures, the sizes of cars or condominiums, and prefers to focus on what he truly values — taste.

Born in Lebanon, his taste for and knowledge of the business evolved out of his early training in the hospitality industry in Europe. During the late ’50s and early ’60s he spent four years living in Munich, Germany mastering the language while studying restaurant and hotel management. He then moved to England in 1963 and worked in London’s Westbury Hotel, followed by some of the finest hotels in New Orleans, Las Vegas, and Atlanta. He confides that during those years he found the industry “intriguing and sexy” and enjoyed working in some of the best hotels. “In those days there were no real restaurants outside of the hotels,” he says. “The hotels had the superior product and all the chefs were imported from abroad. There were no American chefs.”

Times have changed, chefs have changed, and so has Ladeki, who has built his personal style upon a classical and traditional foundation. Today he has emerged as a contemporary thinker and a synergist who has evolved with the culinary zeitgeist. “No one cooks like they did 35 years ago,” he confesses. Gone are the years of silver service and heavy sauces even though some of the best culinary institutes and hotel schools around the world still teach this style.

Every year at his Roppongi Restaurant in La Jolla, students are welcomed from the Culinary Institute of America to learn the trade. “We want to make the industry a career for people,” says Ladeki, who is a role model for having done just that. He tells me that San Diego State University has a Cesar Ritz Hospitality program. This is an internationally recognized program taught in culinary institutes and hotel schools throughout the world.

According to Ladeki, the success of a restaurant depends on staying in touch with the public, who are far more knowledgeable about food, wine, and dining than 30 years ago. “Even the fast food chains with their takeout meals have become more gourmet and people expect a good product,” he remarks. Cooking with creative American chefs has moved culinary art into the entertainment industry. American chefs are making a name for themselves and today they stand side by side with their European counterparts. Matthew Zappoli, executive chef at Fresh, is a rising star who graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in 1998 before he worked his way through Charlie Palmer’s restaurants in New York and Las Vegas.

From Lebanon, Germany, London, and America, the hotel industry has acutely sharpened Ladeki’s senses. He is constantly on watch, observing everything that makes for a good dining experience. Décor and ambience are part of the dining scene, so he monitors everything, including his customer’s responses, the service and quality of food, lights and music. “Our business relies on our clientele being happy,” he says, “so setting up a good system is essential.” His eyes are roaming as we speak and I realize this is part of his artistry, a way of vigilantly checking that his restaurant system is working efficiently.

For Ladeki, the word “watch” is composed of many layers, including watching trends and keeping an eye on what is looming on the horizon. He admits that since the Atkins diet forged into the mainstream, carbohydrates have been cut to a minimum and are optional. “I cannot alter people’s behavior,” he explains. “I’m not Coca Cola so I have to go with what the public likes. I observe them and cater to them. I missed with Tamarindo, but then I changed everything — now Fresh is working well.”

The ability to recognize the right moment to take action is a gift Ladeki can claim. When a fascinating new building prospect on Prospect Street in La Jolla bubbled to the surface, Ladeki’s creative juices stirred. He converted the space into the 20-bedroom Parisi boutique hotel, which became one of the top 20 boutique hotels in America before he sold it. “I did it to get it out of my system,” he says. “I had fun doing it, but wanted to stay focused on my core business — restaurants.”

I try to shift the conversation back to Ladeki and ask how he spends his time when he is not working. I learn he has been married once but today is single with a special person in his life. “I mostly read magazines and lots of menus — I have no time for novels,” he says. “I also like to travel to Italy, Paris, San Francisco, and New York, where I can eat in some of the best restaurants. Even there I watch and learn.” It strikes me that perfection in the culinary business is a passion for some people. They strive for it and live for it and under no circumstances would they be willing to serve up any ordinary dish.

Sami Ladeki is one of these people.