Food

Wagyu is an Overnight Sensation 30 Years in the Making

Ariel Cheung

For chefs who regularly deal with Wagyu, it’s not hard to spot a fake. “You can find a Kobe burger for $20, but on the market the steak costs $200 a pound,” says Ce Bian, executive chef of the Japanese steakhouse chain, Roka Akor. “I don’t see how that could happen.” Bian, who came from London in 2007 to open steakhouses in Scottsdale, Chicago, San Francisco, and Houston, commands six of just 35...