Raised in both Hawaii and San Diego, Troy Guard spent much of his youth in either the ocean or the kitchen. “I was a fish,” he says, “and when I wasn’t in the water, I was grilling or barbecuing—mostly with my Dad, who cooked kalua pigs at luaus.”
Troy worked his way through college and onto the local culinary scene at San Diego’s La Costa Resort, training at all five of the resort's prestigious restaurants. After college, he returned to his native Hawaii—a path that brought him to the door of legendary fusion chef Roy Yamaguchi. Within a year, Troy was sous chef at one of Yamaguchi’s most popular restaurants, Roy’s Kahana Bar and Grill in Maui.
“Roy taught me so much,” Troy says of the experience. “I learned how to work with fresh fish like Hamachi and Hawaiian Pink Snapper (opakapaka), and Pacific Rim ingredients like soy, cilantro, ginger, and yuzu—ingredients I've grown to love. And with guest chefs stopping by—Nobu, Bradley Ogden, Wolfgang Puck, Michael Mina, Douglas Rodriguez—I learned new things all the time." Troy joined Yamaguchi for his next culinary adventure, the launch of Roy’s New China Max in Hong Kong. By age 25, he was responsible for several Roy’s outposts throughout Asia.
Troy spent eight years working closely with Yamaguchi before taking the coveted post of Executive Chef at New York City hotspot Tao. Leading a high-volume operation with a large kitchen staff prepared him for his next calling at The Raffles Hotel in Singapore—where, as Chef de Cuisine at the world-renowned Doc Cheng's restaurant, he developed his own unique Pacific Rim style.
It was at Doc Cheng’s that Troy met Richard Sandoval, the visionary behind award-winning “Modern Mexican” concept restaurants across the U.S. Together, Guard and Sandoval hatched the idea of creating Denver’s first Latin-Asian fusion restaurant, Zengo, in the city’s emerging Riverfront area.
On the heels of his success at Zengo, Troy joined forces with developer-turned-restaurateur Jim Sullivan to embark upon a new enterprise that would showcase his innovative culinary personality. The resulting restaurant, nine75, serves “comfort food with a rock & roll twist.” Guard and Sullivan followed this success with the opening of Ocean, a Denver eatery dedicated to uniting the freshest seafood with provocative flavors and preparations.
Despite his international past, Troy has fully embraced life in Denver with his wife and step-daughter. In addition to a thriving catering and consulting business, he is active in local philanthropic efforts and participates in a variety of local cultural events, including the Cherry Creek Arts Festival and the Telluride Festival of Arts.
Having already been named one of the “Great Regional Chefs of America” by the James Beard Foundation, Troy recently returned to the historic James Beard House in New York for yet another honor. As a member of the Denver FIVE, he was proud to be part of a select group of local tastemakers chosen to represent the Mile High City at an exclusive private dinner.
Never content to rest on his laurels, Troy is on the verge of yet another grand opening in the Mile High City. His latest endeavor, TAG, slated to open its doors in early 2009, will combine his love for travel with his flair for culinary innovation. Serving up a brand-new genre that he calls “continental social food,” TAG will be the realization of a lifelong dream for Troy.