By Christina Martin
Let’s Get Cooking 2025, an event benefiting the Boys & Girls Club of Atlantic City, will take place 6-8 p.m. Wednesday, Feb 5, at the Showboat. Executive Chef Leslie Daniel of Hard Rock’s Kuro will be one of the chefs making a dish for the event.
Chef Leslie has over a decade of experience in top restaurants across Miami, Las Vegas and Atlantic City. I recently spoke with Chef Leslie who shared his journey to becoming the executive chef of the restaurant.
Chef Leslie went to high school in Georgia where he was enrolled in the culinary technical program. He said he made a strong connection there and maintains regular contact with his culinary teacher.
Hearing this meant a lot to me because I teach culinary arts at a high school and it is always wonderful hearing from former students.
After high school Chef Leslie attended culinary college and worked in many kitchens including his first Japanese restaurant, Katsuya in South Beach, Fla.
From the East Coast he traveled west to Las Vegas and became a junior sous chef for a few years. It was in 2018 when Chef Alex and Chef Derek asked him to join the opening team of Kuro at Hard Rock as sous chef. His impressive work ethic landed him the executive chef position.
He also enjoys taking part in competitions. He won “Guy’s Grocery Game,” a culinary competition on the Food Network, and looks forward to more competitions and food shows.
Kuro means black in Japanese. At the restaurant, the servers wear black and there are ceiling lights over every table to emphasize the idea that you can’t see the stage transitions, just the star of the show and for Kuro that is the food.
The menu is in Japanese and the food flows out of the kitchen as it is prepared. The servers ask customers about allergies and a menu map helps customers design their meal according to taste and price range.
“Japanese food is delicate,” Chef Leslie said, noting that the goal is to highlight the fish, not hide it in sauces. This is what sets Kuro apart from other Japanese restaurants in the Atlantic City area.
Chef likes to highlight a specific ingredient in simple dishes, but with bold flavors. Kuro sources local produce, and their fish and beef come straight from Japan.
Some of Kuro’s signature dishes that first-time guests should try include wagyu tacos, crispy rice with spicy tuna and lobster dumplings. These dumplings are butter poached and are a dish that Chef Leslie changes seasonally to showcase what is in season in our area.
In the summer you will see more grilled items, again showcasing seasonality. March-May they celebrate the Cherry Blossom Festival and you can eat under the beautiful pink flowers inside Kuro. This year it begins on March 19 and is called Hamai, a Japanese tradition of viewing cherry blossoms in the spring. Chef Leslie aims to create a unique, unforgettable experience that guests will want to come back to again and again.
I asked the chef about his approach to accommodating dietary preferences while maintaining authentic flavors. They offer gluten-free dining options and often will use purple sweet potatoes for sushi rolls and gluten-free soy sauce.
Chef Leslie believes that in the future Japanese cuisine and restaurants will be more common than steakhouses. He tells future cooks to continue to learn, be a teamplayer and help their teammates whenever possible.
He enjoys working with wagyu, which he cooks on a charcoal grill using compressed cherry oak. His plans for the future include traveling to Japan and be on more Food Network shows.
I asked him what his favorite dish to cook is when he’s off the clock. For Chef Leslie it’s a simple fried rice dish he learned from a chef while he was working in Las Vegas.
You can taste Chef Leslie’s creations at some upcoming events in Atlantic City including the Feb. 1 Wing Fest at the Golden Nugget, or the Feb. 5 Boys and Girls Club event at the Showboat waterpark.
There are some really great events you will not want to miss at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and Kuro, including Sushi School,Taste of Kuro and Sushi Sundays.
Sushi School
Guests looking for a more interactive date can enroll at Kuro’s Sushi School on Thursday, Feb. 13. Led by Executive Chef Leslie Daniel, and Master Sushi Chef Shingo Inoue, this hands-on event will teach guests the delicate techniques behind crafting perfect sushi rolls, hand rolls and nigiri. Tickets cost $85.
Taste of Kuro
Enjoy the award-winning flavors of Kuro every Thursday. The $50 four-course tasting menu includes dessert.
Sushi Sunday
Guests can experience an exclusive omakase menu every Sunday. The cost is $100 per person and features a chilled tasting, chef’s choice of three nigiri, special maki roll and regular maki roll.
Lunar New Year at YouYu
Alongside their regular menu, YouYu will feature Lunar New Year specials Jan. 20 through Feb. 10. This special menu celebrates traditional flavors with a modern twist. Specials include pig tongue soup with lotus roots, dried oysters and angel hair, an angel hair and pig knuckle special, steamed lobster and E Fu noodles, squab lettuce wrap, sand ginger chicken, dried scallops with seasonal vegetables and steamed whole fish.
For dessert YouYu will feature red bean lotus seeds and lily. Guests looking for a unique dish can preorder the Chinese New Year Treasure Pot, which features abalones, sea cucumbers, fish maws, goose webs, dried scallops, dried oysters, “fat choy,” pig tongue, black mushrooms and lotus root with an abalone sauce. Reservations are encouraged and can be made at www.hardrockhotelatlanticcity.com.
Valentine’s Day
Indulge in a romantic evening at Kuro. Valentine’s Day specials include oysters with yuzu soy, Asian pear mignonette and micro cilantro, lobster salad with caviar, shiso aioli and celery, surf and turf featuring wagyu rib eye, U-8 scallop, beet puree and truffle butter, perfect for sharing with someone special. Kuro will also feature a sushi omakase for two. Kuro’s Valentine’s Day specials are available Feb. 14-17. Reservations are highly encouraged and can be made at www.hardrockhotelatlanticcity.com.
Chef Christina Martin is a dedicated chef educator, passionate advocate for healthy eating, and mother. Christina’s expertise has been spotlighted in Independent Restaurateur Magazine and she has been awarded 2024 Chef Educator of the Year from the Professional Chef Association of South Jersey.
