Japan Eats!

Our guest is Kyle Connaughton, who is the chef/owner of SingleThread https://singlethreadfarms.com/ in California. SingleThread is a very unique farm, restaurant, and inn, which has earned numerous accolades since its opening in 2016, including three Michelin stars, three Michelin keys and a Michelin Green Star, which recognizes the outstanding sustainability at the farm managed by Kyle’s wife and ...

Our guest is Takahiro Sakaeda who is the chef/partner of Nami Nori https://www.naminori.us/.  Nami Nori is a unique concept of temaki sushi bar that serves open-style hand rolls on a U-shaped stand. Since its opening in 2019 in New York, Taka has created many fans of his beautifully made, casual and high-quality sushi.  Now he operates four locations of Nami Nori in New York, New Jersey and Miami.

But his success didn’t co...

Our guest is Takumi Kuwabara who is the toji or brewmaster at SakéOne in Forest Grove, Oregon.

SakéOne (https://www.sakeone.com/) is a unique sake brewery.  It was founded in 1992 by Momokawa Brewing in Aomori Prefecture, Japan, which was founded in 1889. SakéOne started sake-brewing in 1997 and since then, its sake has won multiple awards at prestigious competitions like the U.S. National Sake Appraisal and the San Franci...

Our guest is Yoshinori Ishi who is the executive chef and producer of Auberge TOKITO https://www.aubergetokito.com/en/ in Tachikawa, Tokyo.  Chef Ishii’s background is unique and spectacular.  He worked at one of the top Kaiseki restaurants in Kyoto called Arashiyama Kiccho as a sous chef and moved abroad to cook at the United Nations Ambassador's Residence in Geneva and New York.  Then he moved to London to open Umu, whic...

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 legen...

Our guests are Rahul Saito and Mitsu Nagae.  Rahul is the owner and Mitsu is the co-owner and executive chef at l’abeille https://www.labeille.nyc and l’abeille à côté https://www.labeilleacote.nyc/ in Tribeca, New York.

The duo opened l’abeille in March 2022 and shortly after, they won a Michelin star, thanks to Mitsu’s unique and outstanding culinary background as a Japanese chef classically trained in Paris, Tokyo and N...

Our guest is Takatoshi Kadowaki who is the chef-owner of Sushi Kadowaki https://sushi-kadowaki.jp/eng/ in Tokyo.  He started his sushi-chef training at 17 and after his master retired, he moved to the U.S. and developed a global mindset.  Now he serves authentic Edomae-style sushi in the Ginza area of Tokyo, where every sushi chef dreams about opening a sushi bar.

Chef Kadowaki is known for his meticulous sourcing of his f...

Our guest is Daniel Bennett who is the sake sommelier at Sushi-san www.sushisanrestaurant.com and The Omakase Room at Sushi-san www.theomakaseroom.com in Chicago.  Both are a part of Lettuce Entertain You Restaurants, which is an independent, family-owned restaurant group that owns, manages and licenses more than 110 restaurants nationwide with over 60 concepts ranging from fast casual to fine dining.

Daniel is a certified...

Our guests are Régis Camus and Carl Hirschmann, co-founders of Heavensake https://www.heavensake.com/, which was founded in 2016.

Heavensake is truly unique.  It is the first sake producer that introduced the blending (assemblage) technique to the traditional sake-making process.  The mastermind behind Heavensake is Régis Camus who led the renowned Champagne House Piper-Heidsieck as the Chef de Cave for 28 years.  Another ...

Our guest is Hilo Mahelona who is the chef and founder of Hilo Beverly Hills https://www.hilobh.com/ in Los Angeles, California.

Growing up in Hawaii under Japanese and Hawaiian parents, Hilo has a unique yet authentic sushi-making philosophy.  And the moment you step into his restaurant, you will feel his bright, warm hospitality.  The combination of the two makes the restaurant very popular among sushi lovers and Hollywo...

Our guest is Thomas Frebel who is the creative director at Noma https://noma.dk/.  Noma is the famed restaurant in Copenhagen with numerous accolades, including three Michelin stars and The World’s 50 Best Restaurants’ No.1 spot.

Since its opening in 2003, Noma’s chef/owner René Redzepi has been inspiring the world through his strong philosophy of cooking with Nordic traditions and his never-ending pursuit of creativity.  N...

Our guest today is Tim Anderson who is a chef and food writer based in London.  Tim’s early interest in Japanese food led him to global adventures in L.A., Japan and the U.K.  A bowl of ramen he encountered in L.A. fueled his passion for studying it and he moved to Fukuoka, Japan.  Then he opened his ramen restaurants in the U.K. after winning the popular MasterChef competition on BBC One.  Now he writes and communicates h...

Our guest is Kumiko Hashimoto who grew up in the family of the 200-year-old sake brewery in Osaka.  She now plays a key role at Dojima Sake Brewery https://fordhamabbey.co.uk/ near Cambridge in the U.K., which the family founded in 2018.

Dojima Sake Brewery is the first sake brewery in the U.K.  It is known not just for the quality of sake it produces but the scale of the project.  The property is set in a historic, approx...

Our guest is Alexander Nicolau who is the founder of Mandaracha https://www.mandaracha.com/ in Kyoto, which opened in 2019.  Originally from France, Alex fell in love with Japanese tea while he was working in the fields of food technology and open innovation.

Mandaracha is a very special place where you can find a variety of Japanese tea, which Alex selected by visiting and meeting with each producer.  You can also enjoy a ...

And my guest today is Toshio Shinko who is the fifth-generation owner of Marushin Honke in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan.  The company was founded in 1881 and since then, it has produced high-quality traditional Japanese food products, such as miso and soy sauce.  In 2002, in addition to managing Marushin Honke, Toshio founded the new company Yuasa Shoyu, or Yuasa Soy Sauce https://www.yuasasyouyu.co.jp/yuasa_gb_front.html in...

Our guest is Emily Yuen who is the executive chef at Lingo https://www.lingobk.com/, a unique Japanese American restaurant in Brooklyn, New York.

Emily has an impressive culinary background.  She worked at top French restaurants in the world, including Le Gavroche in London, DB Bistro in Singapore and Boulud Sud in New York. She also studied Japanese cuisine at the legendary Shojin restaurant Kajitsu and served as the execu...

Our guest today is Yoshihiko Shida who is the chief Instructor of Tokyo College of Sushi & Washoku London www.sushicollege.uk, which opened in September 2024.  The opening is exciting since the school is the first major Japanese culinary school in Europe.  Chef Shida has worked as an educator and instructor in Japanese culinary institutes for over 32 years. Before that, he gained over 10 years of practical experience i...

Our guest is Rafal Maslankiewicz who is the chef at Ikigai www.ikigai.nyc in New York, which opened in July 2024.  Ikigai is a very unique concept.  First of all, it is a not-for-profit organization, which is highly unusual for a restaurant.  Secondly, beyond covering the fundamental costs of running a business, all proceeds are donated to a food bank.  In fact, 80 days after the opening, Ikigai donated over $12,000, which...

Our guest is Kakuho Aoe https://www.instagram.com/kakuhoaoe_nakamichi0316/ who is the chief Buddhist priest of the Ryokusenji Temple in Asakusa, Tokyo.

Kakuho Aoe joins me to discuss why food is important in the Buddhist practice and beyond, why the Buddhist diet called Shojin Ryori is great diet for vegan, vegetarian and sustainable-minded people regardless of their religion, the eye-opening dinner events “Kuayami Gohan” (...