Teppan Grill

Teppanyaki-style steakhouses and the concept of cooking Western-influenced food prepared on a teppan grill originated in Japan in 1945. Customers enjoyed both watching the skilled maneuvers of the chef preparing the food and the cuisine itself. As the restaurants became more popular, the chef's increased the performance aspect of the preparation, such as stacking onion slices to produce a flaming onion volcano.

In 1964, teppanyaki was first introduced in the United States, where teppan chefs continued to introduce new variations and tricks. Now, the chef might juggle utensils, flip a shrimp tail into his shirt pocket, catch an egg in his hat, toss an egg up in the air and split it with a spatula or even flip flattened shrimp pieces into diners' mouths.