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Showtime!

With its minimalist aesthetic, open-air interior and seamless transitions from one cuisine-appropriate seating area to the next, Shogun Palace  looks and acts like a traditional sushi and teppanyaki restaurant.

Look more closely and you’ll notice something a little more unique — three of the four teppanyaki chefs who work at the grills out on the floor of the southwest Bakersfield eatery are Hispanic.

Flames explode, scarcely missing the cooks’ eyebrows. The sides of the metallic spatula cut through the air in fierce rhythms to form compact piles of rice. The chicken and shrimp are flipped in quick succession, then an egg teetering off the edge of a sharp metallic spatula is sliced mid-air and lands on to the scalding hot surface, frying in dramatic splendor.

The food preparation is reminiscent of a fierce martial arts battle as if the food splayed on the hot grill is proof of the spatula blade’s ultimate victory.

This is not quiet cooking.

One of the chefs behind the volatile magic of the local sushi restaurant is Trinidad Rodriguez. His duties include cooking in the teppanyaki style, requiring a dynamic performance and significant skill.

The chefs prepare the fresh food on sizzling hot grills for a bar-like set-up surrounded by customers. Drivers making their way down California Avenue in the evening hours often catch sight of the large crowds enjoying the culinary show at Shogun.

In addition, the teppanyaki chefs are responsible for seasoning the butter, toasting the sesame seeds and an assortment of the behind-the-scenes prep work.  

Rodriguez has worked at several different types of restaurants in Southern California. Originally from Cuquio, Jalisco, Mexico, the 26-year-old now calls Bakersfield — and Shogun — home. Rodriguez, who is single, moved from Long Beach to Bakersfield because he could afford a better quality of life here, he said.

His favorite food to cook is Italian, but teppanyaki is easier to prepare, Rodriguez said.

As he quickly twirls and tosses the spatula, fork and food items — much like a fast-paced dance — it’s hard to believe that teppanyaki is easier to make than slow-cooked Italian foods and sauces.

“The only hard part is the tricks,” Rodriguez said. “I have everything I need right here, very few items. With Italian, I need lots of ingredients and there is a lot more to do.”

Customer Jeremy Bridgman said that in the last couple of months, he’s visited Shogun three or four times for lunch, which is his favorite time to go to the restaurant.

“It’s a lot more accessible than during dinner. They get really busy at dinner time and there’s more of a bar scene at dinner,” he said.

Bridgman’s favorite dish is the teppanyaki lunch with New York steak and chicken.

Rodriguez got into the teppanyaki style of cooking because the pay was higher and “it was more fun.”

Plus, it’s very popular — Rodriguez has even seen teppanyaki being prepared at restaurants in his hometown in Mexico.

Teppanyaki chefs wear their own leather belts much like a traditional Japanese sushi belt used to hang their sushi knives and cooking utensils.

Rodriguez’s belt of choice is black, leather and inscribed with red flames — an appropriate customization because it signifies the spicy nature of wasabi, an important ingredient in any sushi chef’s food preparation.

David Reyes, 26, and a father of four, works as a teppanyaki chef at Shogun, too, and wears a utensil belt with a Raiders emblem over his traditional uniform. Reyes is originally from Uruapan, Michoacan, Mexico.

The third Latino chef at the popular restaurant is Alfredo Gutierrez, 34, from Cuquio, Jalisco, Mexico.

Rodriguez said that many Shogun customers come in expecting a Japanese chef. A few have even been so bold as to ask if he really knows how to cook in the fast-paced teppanyaki style.

“We practice a lot,” Rodriguez said. “He (referring to a fellow chef working across the room) knows my tricks and I know his, but we don’t copy each other. You have to come up with your own style.”

Rodriguez said he learned the craft at Tsunami Sushi in Huntington Beach from an “old man” who threw him into the fire his first night on the job. It was there that Rodriguez learned that teppanyaki is all about developing an individual style and repertoire of tricks.

Shogun owner Chong Kim said that, like Rodriguez, all of his chefs — no matter their cultural background — come to him with experience in the teppanyaki craft.

“It’s not a matter of nationality, it’s a matter of skill,” he said.

Shogun patrons appreciate all the extra touches.

“The things that they create out of the rice here are amazing,” said customer Derek Jeffery, referring to the temporary sculptures that the chefs mold using fried rice, including a beating heart.

Just more of the unique sights you’ll discover at Shogun.