Japan Eats!
339 episodes - English - Latest episode: 13 days ago - ★★★★★ - 64 ratingsWhat is Japanese food? Sushi, or ramen, or kaiseki? What about Izakaya? Akiko Katayama, a Japanese native, New York-based food writer and director of the New York Japanese Culinary Academy, tells you all about real Japanese food and food culture. With guests ranging from sake producers with generations of experience to American chefs pushing the envelope of Japanese gastronomy, Japanese cuisine is demystified here!
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Episodes
Omotenashi at Café de Flore, Paris
September 28, 2021 14:44 - 1 hour - 59.7 MBOur guest is Tetsuya Yamashita, the only non-French garçon, or waiter, at Café de Flore in Paris. Café de Flore is one of the most iconic cafes in France. Garçon in France is different from a waiter in the US and Tetsuya exemplifies the difference in his outstanding style of service. To prove how distinctive he is, Tetsuya has been patronized by many regulars including the legendary fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld. Also, he was invited by President François Hollande to the state dinner at th...
Sake Revolution!
September 13, 2021 19:22 - 36 minutes - 33.2 MBThis episode is different from our regular show. Recently, I got very lucky to be on the fantastic podcast Sake Revolution and had a fun conversation with the wonderful hosts Tim Sullivan and John Puma. So I am replaying it today on Japan Eats! The Sake Revolution podcast started in January 2020 and each episode is so informative and so much fun that I have never missed any episode of the show. Hope you enjoy it and also I suggest that you listen to more episodes on Sake Revolution, whic...
Rule of Thirds
August 12, 2021 00:08 - 1 hour - 63.5 MBOur guests today are JT Vuong and George Padilla, the executive chef and the co-founding partner of Rule of Thirds in Greenpoint, Brooklyn in New York. George and JT met at Okonomi, a charming Japanese restaurant in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and after working for several years together, they opened Rule of Thirds in February 2020 – what a timing! It was a month before the outbreak of COVID-19. But the duo managed to get through the challenges in the pandemic and luckily we can now discover...
I Just Opened A Sake Bar By Accident
August 02, 2021 23:11 - 54 minutes - 49.8 MBOur guest is Austin Power who has been in the sake industry for the last 17 years as a sake sommelier and kikizakeshi, or a certified sake professional. Austin joined us in Episode 164 and discussed his fascinating experience at Sake Bar Satsuko in the East Village for the first 10 years of his career. Also, he shared his ideas of serving Japanese sake in non-Japanese environments like Tokyo Record Bar in Greenwich Village and Niche Niche in SOHO. He is also a talented artist and graduate...
Discovering Shochu with iichiko
July 26, 2021 22:40 - 58 minutes - 53.1 MBOur guest is Tetsuro Miyazaki, who is the General Manager at IICHIKO USA. iichiko is one of the most well-known shochu brands in Japan and abroad. The company was founded in 1958 and specializes in barley-based shochu products, which reflects the natural environment of Oita Prefecture in the south of Japan. iichiko shochu’s nickname is ""Downtown Napoleon"", meaning that it has the quality of the first-class famous brandy Napoleon at an approachable price. And iichiciko has received nu...
Dassai And Beyond
July 19, 2021 19:55 - 50 minutes - 46 MBOur guest is Kazuhiro Sakurai, the 4th generation and CEO of Asahi Shuzo, which is the maker of Dassai sake. You may have heard of Dassai, because you can find it in many bars and restaurants worldwide. Also, Dassai has appeared at important events. For example, when Barak Obama visited Japan in 2014, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe gifted Dassai sake to the US president. Dassai’s success did not happen overnight. Kazuhiro and his father/the third generation Hiroshi Sakurai shifted the ...
Fourth Generation Sushi Chef Goes Global
July 12, 2021 23:20 - 50 minutes - 46 MBOur guest is Yoshi Tezuka, the 4th generation sushi chef at Matsunozushi in Tokyo, which was founded in 1910. Yoshi is not just a great sushi chef, but also a global thinker. Before he became a sushi chef, Yoshi spent years abroad as a professional ski guide as well as a backpacker and traveled to over 50 countries. Now he cooks for a global audience worldwide on a whole variety of occasions, including the World Expo and the first lady luncheon at the G20 Summit. He was invited by the ...
Japan Distilled!
June 28, 2021 21:44 - 50 minutes - 46 MBOur guests are Stephen Lyman & Christopher Pellegrini who are the co-hosts of Japan Distilled, the fantastic new podcast about Japanese spirits. Japan Distilled started in December 2020. The duo's conversations are fun and truly informative. Stephen and Chris always tell the audience not just the basics but also in-depth history and background of Japanese spirits, which even most Japanese people wouldn’t know about. In this episode, we will discuss why Chris and Stephen started the Japan...
What Is Yakitori?
June 22, 2021 02:16 - 48 minutes - 44.5 MBOur guest is Michael Gerard who is the founder and president of Wildwood Ovens & BBQ (Instagram) based in California. Michael manufactures various wood-fired cooking equipment including yakitori grills. Yakitori is grilled chicken on skewers and its simplicity demands tremendous skills and experience of the cook, not to mention great equipment. Michael is one of the very few yakitori grill manufacturers in the U.S. In this episode, we will discuss how Michael got into producing wood-f...
From Chef To Japanese Knife Ambassador
June 07, 2021 23:57 - 1 hour - 60.4 MBOur guest is Jon Broida who is the owner of Japanese Knife Imports based in California. Before Jon founded Japanese Knife Imports in 2010, he had a successful career as a fine-dining chef and great knives were essential for his job. He got so into Japanese knives that eventually he started the company and now offers outstanding products along with essential services such as knife sharpening and repairs. In this episode, we will discuss how the American chef became interested in Japanese...
Philip Harper: Life & Work of The First Non-Japanese Sake Brewmaster
May 25, 2021 01:34 - 1 hour - 58.4 MBOur guest is Philip Harper, the brewmaster and managing director of Kinoshita Shuzo in Kyoto, which was founded in 1842. Philip has been working in the sake industry for the last 30 years. In 2007, he became the very first non-Japanese brewmaster at Kinoshita Shuzo. Nowadays there are more non-Japanese workers in the sake industry but back then, it was a shockingly novel event! Philip has proven his remarkable talent and his outstanding products have won many awards. Also, he has ...
What is the Difference Between Japanese and Chinese Tea?
May 17, 2021 23:23 - 1 hour - 64.8 MBOur guest is Don Mei who is the Director of Mei Leaf, an awesome tea company based in London. Don also has a wonderful YouTube Channel called “Mei Leaf”, which has 80,000 subscribers. His videos are extremely educational and uniquely fun based on his extensive knowledge of both Chinese and Japanese tea. His global and analytical perspective helps viewers to appreciate tea even more. In this episode, we will discuss various aspects of Japanese tea such as production, flavor and terroi...
Miso, Soy and Samurai: Unique Food Culture of Aichi
May 04, 2021 02:38 - 52 minutes - 48.3 MBOur guest is Kazumasa Nishikawa who is the 4th generation head master of the Nishikawa school of Japanese dancing, which has a history of 170 years. He is a dancer, producer, and director, creating numerous performances, teaching at 4 colleges. He is also a manager of the Nihon Odori Sports Science, a health program from the perspective of Japanese dance. Kaz is based in Aichi Prefecture, which is known for its distinctive food culture. Located between Tokyo and Osaka, its capital Nagoya ma...
Eating Wild in Japan
April 12, 2021 23:27 - 1 hour - 59.5 MBOur guest is Winifred Bird who is a writer, translator, lifelong cook, and lover of plants, based in northern Illinois. Winnie recently published a fabulous book called “Eating Wild Japan - Tracking the Culture of Foraged Foods, with a Guide to Plants and Recipes” from Stone Bridge Press. When we talk about Japanese cuisine, we tend to think of dishes like sushi, ramen and kaiseki without considering enough about native ingredients that play a significant role in Japanese food cultur...
Ramen Forever – An Artist’s Guide To Ramen
April 07, 2021 22:18 - 54 minutes - 49.7 MBOur guest is Yarrow Lazer-Smith, a.k.a. Yarrow Slaps who is a visual artist and hip-hop musician as well as the co-director of SWIM Gallery in San Francisco. Yarrow recently published “Ramen Forever – An Artist’s Guide to Ramen”. There are many ramen-themed books, but this is definitely one the most intriguing and cool ones you can find. It is packed with inspiring interviews with ramen-lover artists, tons of fun illustrations, amusing photos and novel recipes. The book is a proof ...
Water, Wood, And Wild Things: Life in Rural Japan
March 29, 2021 22:46 - 52 minutes - 48.5 MBOur guest is Hannah Kirshner who is the author of “WATER, WOOD, AND WILD THINGS”, which just came out on March 23, 2021 from Viking. Hannah has a lot of intriguing experiences in Japan. For example, she has worked as a bartender and as well as a kurabito, or sake brewer’s assistant, in the beautiful rural area of Ishikawa Prefecture called Yamanaka. Now she calls it her second home. In her new book, Hannah insightfully describes Japanese traditional culture as well as how it is being revi...
Japanese Whisky, Tattoo and Schoolgirls
March 15, 2021 21:03 - 1 hour - 59.2 MBOur guest is Brian Ashcraft who is a senior writer for the video gaming site Kotaku and a columnist for The Japan Times. He is also the author of the 6 fascinating books including: The Japanese Sake Bible, Japanese Whisky, Japanese Tattoos and Japanese Schoolgirl Confidential: How Teenage Girls Made a Nation Cool. Brian has lived in Osaka since 2001. Throughout the two decades, he has insightfully observed and reported the uniqueness of Japanese culture to the world in English. In th...
Coffee Life in Japan
March 09, 2021 00:29 - 1 hour - 60.4 MBOur guest is Merry White who is the author of Coffee Life in Japan, an absolutely insightful and fascinating book about Japanese coffee as well as unique Japanese culture and society. Merry also teaches courses on various topics including Japan, food anthropology, and urban anthropology at Boston University. Japanese people started drinking coffee fairly recently compared to their centuries-old custom of tea drinking, but Japan is the number five importer of coffee beans as of 2021. Also,...
Smitten By Japanese Snacks
February 22, 2021 22:42 - 50 minutes - 46.6 MBOur guest is Danny Taing who is the founder of Bokksu. Bokksu means box in Japanese. His company Bokksu delivers to your door the experience of tasting authentic Japanese snacks, candies, and teas sourced directly from generations-old small family businesses. If you visit Japan, you will instantly know that Japanese people are quite obsessed with both savory and sweet snacks. Elaborately packaged products are ubiquitous and you can easily get addicted to them. In this episode, we ...
North American Sake Is Here!
February 15, 2021 22:42 - 58 minutes - 53.9 MBOur guest is Andrew Centofante who is the co-owner and head brewer of North American Sake Brewery in Charlottesville, Virgina, which opened in 2018. It is Virginia’s first and only sake brewery. Despite its short history, the brewery has won the silver and bronze medals at the 2020 World Sake Challenge for its classic-style sake. But Andrew also makes highly imaginative sake as well. In this episode, we will discuss how Andrew got into Japanese sake, challenges in opening a sake brew...
Here Is Why We Should Drink Japanese Tea
February 08, 2021 23:10 - 1 hour - 58.6 MBOur guest today is Ian Chun who is the owner of Japanese online tea shop and community Yunomi.life. The website is not just selling tea but highly inspirational and educational about Japanese tea and the underlying unique Japanese culture. For example, you can meet tea producers on the designated webpage, which tells you each vendor’s detailed history, tea fields and manufacturing philosophy with beautiful images and videos. In this episode, we will discuss how Ian got into Japanese...
Let’s Make A Japanese-Style Bento Box!
February 01, 2021 17:45 - 56 minutes - 51.9 MBOur my guests are Marc Matsumoto & Maki Ogawa. Marc and Maki host a popular English cooking show called BENTO EXPO produced by NHK, the national public broadcaster of Japan. They teach a global audience how to make great bento boxes. The show is so popular that it is now in the fifth season. Also, Marc and Maki recently published a fascinating cookbook about Japanese-style bento called “Ultimate Bento – Healthy, Delicious and Affordable 85 mix-and-match Bento Box Recipes.” In additi...
Cooking Allergen-free Dishes Inspired By My Daughter
January 25, 2021 22:54 - 52 minutes - 47.7 MBOur guest is Atsushi Numata who is the chef and owner of Ni Japanese Deli at the Essex Market in the Lower East Side, Manhattan. Ni Japanese Deli is unique because all the food he sells is very healthy and allergen-free. He opened the deli in 2012 inspired by his newborn baby who suffered from a lot of allergies. In this episode, we will discuss Atsushi’s intriguing childhood of growing up in a restaurant family, how his music career shifted to cooking, how he makes delicious allergen...
How Omotenashi (Japanese Style Hospitality) Transformed A Mediocre Lodge Into A Relais & Châteaux Hotel
January 18, 2021 20:37 - 58 minutes - 53.1 MBOur guest is Sachiko Nakamichi who is the co-owner of Beniya Mukayu in Kaga City, Ishikawa Prefecture. Beniya Mukayu is a beautiful boutique hotel located in the famous hot spring area Yamashiro. There are many hotels in the area but Mukayu is truly distinctive. It has earned multiple accolades including the member status of Relais & Châteaux, which is regarded as the best of the best in the world of hospitality. Not only that Mukayu was awarded the welcome trophy by Relais & Châteaux fo...
An American Who Saved A Traditional Japanese Brewery
January 13, 2021 19:35 - 1 hour - 57.7 MBOur guest is Marcus Consolini who is the CEO of Daimon Shuzo, a sake brewery in Osaka that was founded in 1826. It is extremely rare to find non-Japanese management at a traditional sake brewery like Daimon. In this episode, we will discuss Marcus' unique background, why and how he decided to manage the authentic sake brewery, what changes he has made at the brewery, what is special about sake and Japanese culture to him and much, much more!!! Heritage Radio Network is a listener suppor...
Osechi: The Japanese New Year Feast
December 14, 2020 21:26 - 50 minutes - 45.8 MB"Our guest is Lucy Seligman who is the author of the fabulous cookbook “The Wonderful World of Osechi: Japanese New Year’s Recipes”. New Year is a huge deal for Japanese people. It is foremost the biggest holiday of the year, which is an equivalent of Thanksgiving and Christmas combined in terms of the cultural importance. There are many kinds of special food involved in the Japanese New Year celebration and each has interesting cultural implications. In this episode, we will discus...
Takeaways From Sake Future Summit 2020
December 08, 2020 17:42 - 59 minutes - 54.1 MBOur guests are Shuso Imada, general manager of the Japan Sake & Shochu Information Center and Sebastien Lemoine, co-host of the fantastic podcast Sake On Air. The Japan Sake & Shochu Information Center and Sake On Air jointly organized the fascinating online event Sake Future Summit 2020, which was held on Saturday, November 21st and Sunday November 22nd. Since the program ran in Japanese Standard Time, many of us who have a massive time difference to Japan may have missed the event. ...
Lessons From The Shogun-Era Japanese Diet
November 30, 2020 22:08 - 1 hour - 56.3 MBOur guest is Joshua Schlachet who is the Assistant Professor of Japanese History at The University of Arizona. Josh is a historian of early modern and modern Japan, specializing in the cultural history of food and nourishment in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, which was the era of powerful Shoguns and the subsequent westernization. But the scope of his work is way beyond it sounds! His research includes global and comparative food studies and histories of science and health, wh...
A Global Ambassador From Hokkaido With American Heritage
November 16, 2020 21:27 - 56 minutes - 51.5 MBOur guest today is Joshua Walker who is the President & CEO of Japan Society in New York. Joshua has a very intriguing background. He was raised in Japan and spent his formative years until 18 in Hokkaido, the northern island of Japan where the geography and climate are diversely different from the mainland Japan. And Hokkaido’s food culture is extraordinary! Since Joshua left Japan, he has been working in global affairs and known as a perpetual bridge-builder, citizen diplomat and trained...
Rakugo: The Art of Universal Humor
November 10, 2020 00:27 - 57 minutes - 52.9 MBOur guest is Kanariya Eiraku who is a rakugo-ka or traditional Japanese comic storyteller. Rakugo is a unique form of entertainment that became popular in the 17th century during the Edo period. A storyteller sits on the stage alone only with a folding fan and a hand towel. These are the only props used during the performance. But once the rakugoka starts talking, you are in another world. The rakugo-ka would quickly draws you into the story and you would feel as if you were sitting right ...
Shojin Ryori: Japanese Vegan ＆ Vegetarian Dishes
November 02, 2020 20:34 - 58 minutes - 53.7 MB Our guest is Elizabeth Andoh, who already joined us 9 times on Episodes 18, 61, 83, 99, 108, 131, 156, 180, 200 and shared her truly deep insight into traditional Japanese food culture. Elizabeth is a food writer and Japanese cooking instructor based in Tokyo and she has lived in Japan for over 50 years. She runs the culinary arts program called A Taste of Culture, which offers a great opportunity for non-Japanese people to explore Japanese culture through its food. Elizabeth is also ...
Pursuing A Dream Of Making Great Wine in America
October 26, 2020 21:18 - 45 minutes - 41.4 MBOur guestis Tom Kisaichi who is the owner, grower and winemaker of the Maboroshi Vineyard in Sonoma, California. Tom is courageous. Without any background of wine-making, he went to France to study wine at the one of the greatest Burgundian wineries in Gevrey Chambertin in 1991 and he opened The Maboroshi Vineyard in Sonoma, California with his wife and business partner Rebecca in 1999. Tom practices the biodynamic agricultural method in his vineyard. As a result, his wine reflects the p...
A Sake Ambassador In Berlin
October 19, 2020 21:09 - 55 minutes - 51.1 MBOur guest is Bastian Schwithal who is the CEO and co-founder of Go-Sake based in Berlin, Germany. Since Bastian founded the company in 2017, he has been actively introducing Japanese sake to Germany, which is the kingdom of beer and wine. He also has an award-winning premium sake brand co-produced by traditional Japanese breweries. In this episode, we will discuss how Bastian got into Japanese sake, why he founded his sake company in Berlin, his own award-winning sake brand, how sake is ac...
Sushi Shokunin: The Life of Sushi Masters
October 05, 2020 22:01 - 1 hour - 56.1 MBOur guest is Andrea Fazzari, a Tokyo-based James Beard Award- winning photographer and author who specializes in travel and the culinary world. Andrea joined us on Episode 113 to discuss her then-new book “TOKYO NEW WAVE: 31 Chefs Defining Japan's Next Generation with Recipes”, which won The 2019 James Beard Foundation Book Awards for photography. Andrea just released a fascinating new book - which she photographed, wrote, and co-designed - called “Sushi Shokunin: Japan’s Culinary Masters”...
The Chef Is A Robot
September 28, 2020 21:08 - 1 hour - 57.8 MBOur guest is Tez Sawanobori who is the founder and CEO of the Connected Robotics based in Tokyo. We have already seen various applications of robots to our daily life. For example, a Japanese older couple lives with a robot as their close friend to ease their loneliness. Tez develops robots that can manage skillful tasks with advanced technology and AI for the restaurant industry. The restaurant industry has been known for constantly struggling with finding kitchen staff who can maintain...
The First Japanese Woman Who Owns And Runs A Tequila Company
September 21, 2020 23:20 - 56 minutes - 51.8 MBOur guest is Kumiko Zimmerman who is the Founder and CEO at Don Sueños Tequila. She is the first Japanese woman who owns and runs a tequila company. Although Japan is now famous for great whisky production, tequila is not instantly connected with Japan in our mind. But Kumiko has been proving to the world that she can make the world-class tequila by winning reputable awards since she launched her products in the U.S. in 2018. In this episode, we will discuss how Kumiko got into the tequi...
Why Be Happy?
September 14, 2020 20:40 - 56 minutes - 51.4 MBOur guest is Scott Haas who is a writer and clinical psychologist based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He went to Japan for the first time in 2003 and has been visiting the country three to four times a year ever since. Based on his intimate experience with Japanese culture over the years, Scott recently published a truly inspiring book “WHY BE HAPPY?”. This book is about how to achieve happiness with the mindset of the Japanese. The key is you don’t have to be Japanese to reach your own hap...
Zen, Flow State And Tea Ceremony
August 12, 2020 23:00 - 58 minutes - 53.8 MBOur guest is Jeremy Hunter who is the Founding Director of the Executive Mind Leadership Institute at Peter F. Drucker Graduate School of Management. Jeremy teaches corporate executives how to examine their lives, because he thinks that you cannot manage people without managing yourself first. You may have heard of the concept of flow state or being in the zone or the Zen state and his approach is based on it. I got to know Jeremy through a very inspiring YouTube video hosted by the J...
Donburi: A Japanese Food As Comforting As Ramen
August 03, 2020 17:36 - 53 minutes - 49.1 MBOur guest is Elizabeth Andoh who joined us 8 times on Episodes 18, 61, 83, 99, 108, 131, 156, 180 and shared her truly deep insight into traditional Japanese food culture. Elizabeth is a food writer and Japanese cooking instructor based in Tokyo, and she has lived in Japan for over 50 years. She runs the culinary arts program called A Taste of Culture, which offers a great opportunity for non-Japanese people to explore Japanese culture through its food. Elizabeth is also the aut...
What Is Special About Japanese Food Culture? Former Private Chef To The Ambassador To Japan Caroline Kennedy Explains
July 27, 2020 19:48 - 58 minutes - 53.4 MBOur guest is Marybeth Boller who is a chef with impressive experience. She worked under some of the greatest chefs in the world like Michel Roux in London and Jean Georges Vongrichten in New York. She also served as a private chef for the US Ambassador Caroline Kennedy from 2013 to 2017 in Tokyo. She continues to live in Japan and pursue her own culinary philosophy there. In this episode we will discuss challenges she came across while she worked as the chef for the American Ambassador to ...
Succeeding A Japanese Restaurant Empire
July 23, 2020 15:18 - 56 minutes - 52 MBOur guest is Sakura Yagi who is the chief operating officer at the T.I.C. Group. The T.I.C. Group is very important for the Japanese food culture in NYC. It is founded by Sakura’s father Bon Yagi who is regarded as the founder of the Japan Town in the East Village. In 1984, Mr. Yagi opened his first restaurant Hasaki in East Village. Since then Mr. Yagi opened more approachable and high-quality unique Japanese restaurants and now the T.I.C. Group operates 13 restaurants in Manhattan...
Running A Japanese Restaurant Empire
July 23, 2020 15:18 - 56 minutes - 52 MBOur guest is Sakura Yagi who is the chief operating officer at the T.I.C. Group. The T.I.C. Group is very important for the Japanese food culture in NYC. It is founded by Sakura’s father Bon Yagi who is regarded as the founder of the Japan Town in the East Village. In 1984, Mr. Yagi opened his first restaurant Hasaki in East Village. Since then Mr. Yagi opened more approachable and high-quality unique Japanese restaurants and now the T.I.C. Group operates 13 restaurants in Manhattan, mostly ...
Tokyo, Paris to New York: A Japanese Chef’s Creative Journey
July 16, 2020 02:29 - 33 minutes - 30.9 MBOur guest is Yuu Shimano who is the executive chef at Mifune, a creative Japanese restaurant in Midtown, Manhattan. Yuu’s experience is unique. He is from Japan and studied in France, worked in Japan and eventually he became the saucier at Guy Savoy in Paris, which has 3 Michelin-stars. Saucier is the top station in French kitchen, and he was the first Japanese person to take that position at Guy Savoy. Now he is in New York, going through difficult times as his restaurant is closed du...
What Is Takoyaki?
July 01, 2020 11:52 - 57 minutes - 52.9 MBOur guest is Karl Palma who is the chef and owner of Karl’s Balls in New York City. He cooks authentic takoyaki at various pop-up events. Takoyaki is one of the most classic Japanese comfort foods but it is yet to be discovered in the US and most other countries outside Japan. In this episode, we will discuss what takoyaki is, why the simple bite-size balls are a piece of art, Karl’s philosophy of making great takoyaki, and much, much more! In March, HRN began producing all of our 35 w...
In Pursuit of Japanese Cuisine in NYC
June 24, 2020 13:04 - 43 minutes - 40.1 MBOur guest is Hirohisa Hayashi, the chef and owner of Hirohisa in SOHO, which has a previous Michelin star. Hiro’s culinary experience is unique. He was classically trained in Japan and came to New York, cooked at Sushi Samba, which is a both latin and Japanese themed creative restaurant. He also had a casual neighborhood restaurant in Brooklyn called Hibino before he opened Hirohisa. In this episode, we will discuss what his unique culinary journey has taught him so far, how he expresse...
The Washoku World Challenge Winner Discusses Her New Restaurant Opening Amid the Coronavirus Outbreak
June 17, 2020 03:55 - 49 minutes - 45.5 MBOur guest is Yael Peet who is a chef with impressive culinary training at top restaurants in New York City including Prune and Shuko. Until April 2019 she was the co-executive chef at Karasu, which is a cool Japanese-influenced izakaya-style restaurant in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. Yael and her co-executive chef Elena Yamamoto joined us on Episode 158 to discuss her unique culinary approach and their forthcoming new restaurant Fury’s. While getting ready for opening the new restaurant, Yael pa...
A Coveted Whisky Brand Made Out Of Shochu
June 04, 2020 03:55 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBOur guest is Chris Uhde who is a whisky specialist based in Los Angeles. Japanese whisky is very popular among whisky connoisseurs in the world lately. Chris understands Japanese whisky thoroughly but it is not the only reason he is here. He has done something very precious for the shochu industry. In Japan, if shochu is barrel-aged for a long time and its color turns amber, you cannot sell it in the market. Chris discovered batches of unsalable barrel-aged shochu and magically made i...
Making Woodwork for Japanese Fermentation
May 12, 2020 03:55 - 54 minutes - 49.8 MBOur guest is John Cox, owner and cooper at Quercus Cooperage in the Hudson Valley. John founded Quercus Cooperage in 2013 to pursue the art of traditional coopering. It is one of the 33 cooperages in the US, and is one of the very few, or maybe the only one that manufactures items for Japanese-style fermentation. In this episode, we will discuss John’s unique career path, his commitment to traditional woodwork, how he got into Japanese fermentation equipment and much, much more!!! Japan...
Koji Alchemy
May 05, 2020 03:46 - 57 minutes - 52.1 MBMy guests are Rich Shih and Jeremy Umansky, who just wrote a great book on Koji - the title of which is “Koji Alchemy – Rediscovering the magic of mold-based fermentation”. Koji is the national mold of Japan. It is used to make almost all fermented products in Japanese cuisine, such as miso, soy sauce and sake. Koji is also becoming a culinary keyword lately, and top chefs in the world such as Rene Redzepi and Ferran Adria have been actively utilizing it in innovative ways. Jeremy j...
A Care Package From Japan
April 14, 2020 01:21 - 52 minutes - 48.1 MBIn this episode, we will discuss why Lillian decided to start Kokoro Care Packages, the artisanal farmers and producers they works with, challenges they face in running the niche global business and much, much more!!! Japan Eats! is powered by Simplecast.