GOOD, HONEST FOOD
Bento boxes are just vessels. The process of discovering how to make classic dishes the way they are made in their home of origin and what the customer receives in those convenient compartmentalized boxes is where the magic happens.
FRIED CHICKEN JUST SMELLS BETTER
Paul Matsumoto fell into the food business at an early age deboning chickens and trading other odd jobs for ice cream after school in a tiny grocery store in the neighborhood he grew up in. Originally headed for a career in the automotive industry, Paul shifted to food deciding he’d rather come home smelling like fried chicken than petro oil.
After taking culinary classes at Kapiʻolani Community College Paul cooked in a collection of Spencecliff restaurants, the Hawaiʻi Convention Center, and – until shuttered by the pandemic – was the Chef de Cuisine at the iconic Alan Wong’s.
Paul expertly navigates world cuisines tracing traditional dishes localized in Hawaiʻi back to their roots.
As a classically trained chef in culturally diverse Hawaiʻi, with a palate accustomed to his mother’s Japanese and Korean cooking, Paul expertly navigates world cuisines tracing traditional dishes localized in Hawaiʻi back to their roots. With the help of his friends from various ethnicities, Paul masters these cuisines creating an unspoken language he can use to communicate with, and bring joy to people from all over the world.
AN IDEA BORN OUT OF NEED
Like many businesses launched in 2020, Beni Co. Bentos was born out of the pandemic. Paul noticed a void. No major hubs for feeding people on Oʻahu outside of a small scattering of soup kitchens. Food Banks collected ingredients, but they didnʻt create meals. In April 2020, he joined Chef Hui – a nonprofit network of chefs committed to deepening the connection between chefs and farmers with their communities – as their executive chef. Originally a food rescue mission at the onset of the pandemic, it was only a matter of time before he began intercepting the flow of ingredients to transform them first into a delicious soup, stew, or bento. Paul has been leading a small team making community meals for Chef Hui ever since.
When they arenʻt dishing out hundreds of free meals for distributions, Paul and his cooks work on menu development, testing dishes of various cuisines such as Chi Chi dango, , Birria Tacos, and Ja Jang Myeon, Igado, Kai Kaphroa Khai Dao. In November 2020, Paul launched Beni Co. Bentos – named after his mom’s Japanese name: Beniko. The catering and takeout service integrates with Chef Hui. It also acts as a platform for Paul to empower and teach his cooks how to create a venture of their own, providing an opportunity for them to discover what itʻs like to control their own destiny, even if that destiny looks different from what they originally hoped for. Eventually, his intention is to pass the business along to them.
It is important to him that he and his cooks do their part to help stamp out (even if just a small fraction) the hunger issues that persist on Oʻahu
Paul remains concerned about food waste and is not afraid to use blemished vegetables that aren’t pristine enough to make their way onto supermarket shelves. He hopes Beni Co. Bentos will be an outlet to deal with this issue first hand. Beyond that, Paul dreams big of someday creating a World Kitchen in Hawaiʻi, modeled after those by Massimo Botura and José Andrés. It is important to him that he and his cooks do their part to help stamp out (even if just a small fraction) the hunger issues that persist on Oahu providing good, honest food that supports Hawai’i’s food system.