What is the name of the chefs that use knives to chop food (and sometimes cook) in front of people in typically Asian restaurants?

Ginsu chef?

I thought they were called “chefs.” I guess they could be teppanyaki chefs, since they use that flat griddle thing.

Hibachi mavens?

Panda Express.

a Benihana?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benihana

Skilled?

Good practicers?

板前 Itamae?

@wgallios Unless they do a comedic show. Then they are known as Benihahanas.

@mrentropy er I think I meant that one thank you.

Santoku knife. I use it all the time. All purpose in the kitchen. A little heavy.

Benihana (the original restaurant to use them, I believe) refers to them simply as “chef”.

Well, I think technically it might be teppanyaki, but we commonly call it Hibatchi in America. Um, but that is the type of cooking, you are asking about the chef. I don’t think Benihana means chef, I put chef in an online English-Japanese dictionary and chef came up with itamae or shefu.

Ignore Josie’s answer. I thought the question was about knives. Come to think of it, you probably ignored it anyway.

The cooking and eating surface is called a teppanyaki or teppan table and the chef is called a teppanyaki chef.