Roy Yamaguchi was in Atlanta yesterday; he'll be in Baltimore tomorrow - wrapping up a six-month national tour celebrating the 20th anniversary of his restaurant chain. He's done morning TV shows, cooked alongside local celebrities, generally done the all-star thing. He even played drums with Gene Simmons on A&E's “;Family Jewels.”;

Next week, Yamaguchi brings the party home with two huge culinary events: a sold-out $10,000-per-table benefit on Oct. 4 and a $200 dinner-on-the-lawn at Kapiolani Community College Oct. 5. Joining Yamaguchi will be 22 top-caliber guest chefs, among them Charlie Trotter, Ming Tsai, Tetsuya Wakuda, Nobu Matsuhisa and Francois Payard. That he can assemble such a group is an indication of the influence he's gained since opening Roy's Hawaii Kai in 1988.

  When you opened your first restaurant, were you anticipating growing this much?

I never thought we'd have 37 restaurants. I thought maybe a couple. I thought having one successful restaurant would be great - having two would be nice. But you always dream bigger.

  Why come to Hawaii when your first restaurant, 385 North, was in Los Angeles?

(385 North) got a lot of attention and publicity, but financially it was never a big success. I was just back from a trip to Tahiti and I got a call from Judy, my cousin (a Realtor in Hawaii), she said, “;Roy there's a a building that I pass every day. It might be a good place for a restaurant.”; ... I got back to L.A. and my partner said, “;Things aren't looking too good, Roy, you might want to think about your future.”; So I called my cousin back.

  But why Hawaii Kai, so far from town and the action in Waikiki?

I wanted a restaurant that would be a part of a community. ... I sat outside (on the lanai of the office building that would become Roy's Hawaii Kai) in a chair and wheeled back and forth for about four hours, getting the feel of the surroundings ... watching the flow of traffic ... it felt good.

A lot of times I rely on that feeling. There's no rhyme or reason for a restaurant to succeed. There's no formula. If there was, no one would ever fail. No restaurant would ever close. There's some magic to a certain point.

After all this time is there a dish you consider your signature?

Maybe our Blackened Ahi (with Soy Mustard Sauce). That's a combination of Paul Prudhomme and Chinese mustard. When I was a kid I used to eat shu mai and I wanted that flavor. When I was in L.A., it was Cajun fever and there was one restaurant serving blackened red fish - that's where I got the idea. It's been on the front page of Forbes magazine for that. The story was, “;How much blackened ahi does Roy's sell?”;

  And how much is that?

I don't even know.

  Have you ever created a dish that was a mistake?

I've had a lot. What happens is I'll think of a dish and after I make it, if it doesn't really work, I don't serve it, I change it. I work with it until it ends up working. ... I would write it on paper and we'd go print the menu, and then I'm running late and when I try it, it doesn't work and we have to reprint the menu.

  Any regrets?

When I was starting the restaurant, my daughter was young and my son wasn't born yet. I didn't spend much time at home. I never saw my kids. It was my fault. ... Now I realize how much I missed out. My biggest regret was I didn't get to spend enough time with them. But about the business? None.

  Your plans for the 20th anniversary are huge.

I always think big. I'm a daydreamer. I think that's one of my greatest assets. When you daydream - I tell my kids this - you create your world and it can be big and full, and in that world you're the king.