How a Real-Life Chef Inspired Grown-Up Bobby Hill’s Career Path

Mike Judge wasn’t huffing charcoal when he decided to make Bobby Hill a successful Robata-fusion chef. The King of the Hill co-creator recently shared the inspiration behind grown-up Bobby’s profession, telling GQ that American sushi master Tyson Cole was “in (his) subconscious” as he crafted a 20-something version of the beloved character. 

“I thought, ‘Bobby could be that guy,’” Judge said of Cole, the founder of high-end Austin sushi restaurants Uchi and Uchiko. 

Despite their shared passion for Japanese cuisine, Bobby still has a ways to go before reaching Cole’s level of expertise. The real-life restaurateur spent a decade training under two sushi masters before earning recognition from outlets like Saveur and Food & Wine in the 2000s. Cole later earned a James Beard Award for the Best Chef: Southwest category back in 2011. 

Judge doesn’t seem too worried about Bobby’s willingness to put in these kinds of hours. The Hill family’s hard-working nature, he said, also served as a deciding factor in shaping the Robata Chane chef’s career path.  

“When we hit on the idea that Bobby had inherited his dad’s work ethic, which is unusual for a guy his age, then it started to click,” Judge explained. “People thought he would go off to New York and become a comic, but a lot of the time, when you’re a kid, you have those dreams, but this is just a little bit more realistic.”

It’s a much more delicious turn of events as well.