Our guest is Isao Yamada who is the chef-owner of Yamada https://www.yamadanewyork.com/ in New York. He was classically trained in Kyoto as a Kaiseki chef and opened his own restaurant at the age of 25 in his hometown Fukuoka. He could have successfully built his career in Japan but he decided to move to the U.S. in 2006 to pursue new challenges.
Chef Yamada’s career in the U.S. evolved as he worked closely with the legendary chef David Bouley in New York. He earned a Michelin star as the executive chef at Chef Bouley’s Kaiseki restaurant Brushstroke. In April 2025, Chef Yamada opened his own beautiful restaurant Yamada in Manhattan.
In this episode, we will discuss Chef Yamada’s unique career, how he collaborated with the legendary Chef Bouley, his Kaiseki dishes at Yamada that seamlessly merge authenticity and creativity, his joy and challenges in cooking in America, how Japanese cuisine in America has changed in the last two decades and much, much more!!!
Follow Chef Yamada on Instagram @chef_yamada.isao, as well as his restaurant Yamada @yamadanyc!
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Popular Podcasts
NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal
Gregg Rosenthal and a rotating crew of elite NFL Media co-hosts, including Patrick Claybon, Colleen Wolfe, Steve Wyche, Nick Shook and Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic get you caught up daily on all the NFL news and analysis you need to be smarter and funnier than your friends.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com