Roger Liang, Executive Chef - Sheraton Kauai Resort
Newly appointed as executive chef, Roger Liang oversees all food & beverage operations for the revitalized Sheraton Kauai Resort, including Poipu’s newest hotspot, the much-anticipated RumFire at Poipu, Lava’s on Poipu Beach and the resort’s banquet offerings. Born in Pakistan, raised in California and being of Chinese descent, Liang translates his multi-cultural upbringing into his culinary creations, and enjoys blending different cultures together through food. Trained in the French style at the California Culinary Academy, Chef Liang’s formative culinary years were spent at Roy’s Restaurants creating Hawaiian Fusion Cuisine and working his way to Executive Chef Partner before his stints at the Rattlesnake Club in Palm Dessert, California, and BluEmber Restaurant at the Rancho Las Palmas Resort and Spa in Rancho Mirage, California.
Raymond Nicasio, Chef de Cuisine - RumFire
Raymond Nicasio’s passion in life is to connect to people through his food. The Chef de Cuisine of Kauai’s newest hotspot, RumFire, is a native of the Philippines, but left to pursue a career in the hotel industry at the tender age of 18. Crossing North America from the Great White North and traveling south to Texas, Nicasio has mastered his craft through his studies at Toronto’s Constellation Hotel and the Art Institute of Houston as well as his experience as sous chef for the Coronado Club in Houston, Texas, and banquet chef for NBA Basketball Team Houston Rockets’ sports arena, the Houston Toyota Center. His career in the kitchen eventually led him to the Westin Ka‘anapali Ocean Resort Villas in Maui, Hawaii, where he fell in love with the islands and its unique food culture. He joined Sheraton Kauai Resort’s RumFire team in 2011 and oversees day-to-day execution of kitchen operations. Nicasio’s travels have influenced his approach to cooking; he recognizes how to utilize ingredients unique to a locality and incorporating it with a twist. “My food is about familiar flavors being used in an unexpected way,” he says. Guests of RumFire will often be personally greeted by Nicasio during their meal.
