There is an interesting tale to relate about how George’s at the Cove’s executive chef, Masafumi “Masa” Kojima, got his start at the La Jolla restaurant in 2009.
“Kojima’s dad, Yoshinori, tricked him into a full-time job under Trey Foshee at the restaurant (Yoshinori was previously Trey’s executive chef at Röckenwagner in Santa Monica and had known Trey for years),” said Mark Rogoff of Alternative Strategies, which handles public relations for George’s, a multi-level eatery at 1250 Prospect St.
“Kojima’s dad told him George’s need some part-time help. Kojima applied for a job expecting to just help out a few days a week. He then showed up to work on his first day and was surprised to learn he had accepted a full-time position.”
“My dad told me, ‘Hey, my friend Trey, he owns a restaurant in La Jolla, would you be able to help him out, he just needs help for three days?’ said Kojima adding he then asked, ‘Three days a week, or just for three days in general?’ His dad then replied, ‘Just for three days, and then you’re done.’ So I came in and started to do the paperwork and I asked the sous chef, “Is this full-time?’ And she said, ‘Yeah.’ And I was like, ‘OK.’”
Kojima, who was already employed at another restaurant at the time, then began working for about a year from 6 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at his other job, before coming to George’s to work a second shift from 3 p.m. until 11:30 p.m. or midnight.
In April, Kojima will be celebrating his second anniversary at the helm of George’s kitchen. He started out there as a pastry-plater and eventually moved up to pantry, raw bar, hot appetizers, hotline, grill, and then to sous chef in 2013.
Kojima served as sous chef for three years, then left for Juniper & Ivy to become its chef de cuisine. He was there for nearly five years before returning to George’s in April 2021 to become an executive chef.
The son of a chef, Kojima never went to school to learn his craft, but rather picked up all the tools of the trade starting from the bottom as a dishwasher and prep cook, gradually working his way up the culinary ladder.
About his role at George’s now, Kojima said, “I run the day-to-day operations, menu development, and hiring.”
George’s menu has undergone numerous changes over the years including some recent adjustments. “It’s now called California modern,” explained Kojima of the cuisine. “It used to be a fine-dining restaurant. But with COVID and staffing issues, we decided to turn (part of George’s) into a banquet hall or private event space. We also have another kitchen (on the upper level) where we do lunch and dinner service from 11 a.m. to close. In the very top kitchen, we serve a seasonal bistro menu. Down here we have a banquet menu that we change seasonally.”
Kojima noted George’s menus tend to be seafood-driven being located right on the ocean. He added they try to use locally sourced fish from the tuna harbor dockside in Point Loma.
Of the mainstays of George’s cuisine, Kojima said one is George’s Smoked Chicken Soup, which has been on the menu for years. Regarding the upcoming spring menu at George’s, Kojima noted, “We might do a take on scampi shrimp but use creamed garlic and a snap pea dish. We used to do this tuna with cherry ponzu sauce with avocado on the menu and it was very popular. A lot of the staff are asking to bring it back. So maybe we’ll do a rendition of that.”
The restaurant business is known for being extremely time- and labor-intensive. While that is true, Kojima pointed out it is all worth it. “This profession has ups and downs,” he concluded. “But at the end of the day, working with the people here you become family almost because you spend time with them more than you do with your actual family. So you have friends wherever you go, whether it is a different city or a different place in the world.”
