Today we’d like to introduce you to Jaysson Li.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I am a first-generation Asian American Paratrooper AKA person who was an immigrant that grew up with his parents working on the other side of the globe. Growing up with grandparents could be fun but at the same time, it can be really tough since I did not have the privilege that other kids have with their parents around, but that was no problem because I had two awesome grandparents who taught me everything I needed to survive in this adventurous world.
Ever since graduating from high school, I have tested the water for many different jobs, but came back to realize that being in a restaurant environment made me stay focused at what I do, then I started to realize that I love this environment and this is what I want to do for the rest of my life. At the age of 21, I have decided to attend Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Pasadena to enhance my knowledge in order to climb up the ladder of being successful. After graduating from Culinary School, I then traveled to many different places and worked in nearly every position in a restaurant environment all for one day that I could have the knowledge to open my own establishment and to cook the food that I want to serve the community. Things were not easy along the path but I’ve always kept my Mamba Mentality of just putting my head down and work thru every obstacle that I faced.
Many people around me did not understand me and told me I should have done this or that, but that did not stop me from being me because I know that if I take a shortcut and follow someone else’s route of becoming successful then I would miss all the other experience that should have belong to myself. And here I am today even after opening my own restaurant I am still nowhere near the top of the ladder since this is just the beginning.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The road was not smooth but it was fun. Like many other people, I have experienced family problems, relationship problems, friendship problems, career problems, but in the end, I feel that’s just life, problems are caused by misunderstanding between more than one individual. One of the struggles that I have experienced the most is identity confusion. Growing up under the roof of a very traditional Chinese family, I was taught a different value compared to what I was taught at school. At school, the teachers and professors always tried to push me to be whoever I want to be, but in a traditional Chinese household, it’s always about the benefit of the family first hence sometimes this can be very difficult for me to pursuit a dream of my own. I had to spend years trying to balance between the two values and finally came to realize a way that they can co-exist by spending more time and patience communicating with my family.
Another struggle that I came across was not be able to find a way to relieve my personal anxiety because I have often feel sharing my anxiety issue with other people is a sign of giving negative vibes to people around so I have always kept them to myself. It was not until I met the love of my life, then I realize there are people who love you enough to sit down and spend hours listening to you talking about your issue, and this woman later became my wife.
Lastly, I have experienced many racial profiling being an Asian American working in American kitchen. I have often been called names and being picked on by my peers. I often get blamed for things. In the beginning, I tried so hard in fitting with my crew that I lost who I actually am. But in the end, its cooking what saved me once again from all the stress, I just put my head down, ignore all the non-sense criticism, and gained my respect from other people because in the end, they know they can always rely on me when it comes to cooking.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Ramen Zuru story. Tell us more about the business.
Ramen Zuru does not only specialize in Ramen, due to my cooking background, we specialize in bringing the cooking techniques from different cultures together and have fun with it. In nearly every dish, our customer can spot a little culture from different areas of the world. We use techniques such as French Sous-Vide and Confit to Middle Eastern spice mixing, to Chinese Flame Temperature control, and to Japanese umami flavor enhancing. We believe in finding the best technique and method to perfect each dish that we brings to the guest. Having the experience of cooking in Gastropub made me to have an understanding of how to freely present the best quality ingredient in its most natural form, cooking in fine-dining made me understand how to pair different flavor profile to create the most unique flavors, cooking in a Chinese restaurant made me understand the importance of temperature controlling when cooking on the stove, cooking in a Japanese restaurant made me understand that every ingredient from the nature has a different umami flavor that ticks our palate. Many of our guests feel we do not only specialize in food but we also specialize in culture and tradition. We are one of a kind, and we are proud of it.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
To be honest, I do not believe in luck. I believe it is just a life experience, no one has their whole life on good terms or bad terms, it is just how you deal with anything that came at your face. Be humble, put your head down, and be yourself.
Contact Info:
- Address: 17801 Pioneer Blvd. Unit E
Artesia, CA 90701 - Website: WWW.RAMENZURU.COM
- Phone: (909)9790275
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ramen_zuru/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Ramen-Zuru-168899957073086/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/ramen-zuru-artesia
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