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 English to pursue the highest quality of soy sauce that reflects the family tradition.

Preserving tradition is hard and even harder is to keep it fresh in response to the fast-changing environments.  Toshio has been very successful in doing so and a great example is his innovative idea of making soy sauce in Bordeaux, France https://www.yuasasyouyu.co.jp/yuasa_gb.html in collaboration with the well-established Grand Cru winery Chateau Coutet in Saint Emilion.

In this episode, we will discuss how Toshio’s company produces premium soy sauce with wood barrels, which is rare these days, how he came up with the idea of making soy sauce in the French wine country, why the French winery wants to make soy sauce with Toshio, how his Bordeaux-made soy sauce is different, why French chefs love using it and much, much more!!!

Here is a fabulous YouTube video, that captures how Toshio makes soy sauce with the French partner Adrien David Beaulieu, the owner of Chateau Coutet and his team.  

https://www.marushinhonke.com/f/marushin

(Scroll further down and click on “We want to spread Yuasa soy sauce to France!”)

Here are some of the restaurants that uses Toshi’s Bordeaux-made soy sauce:

·       Maison nouvelle, Etchebest　nouvelle.fr/">https://maison-nouvelle.fr/　

·       Lalique, Lafaurie Peyraguey Schilling　　https://www.lafauriepeyragueylalique.com/en/michelin-starred-chef-jerome-schilling-unveils-his-autumn-menu/　

·       Skiff Club, Stéphane Carrade　　https://haaitza.com/les-restaurants-cafe-bar-brasserie-restaurant-etoile-arcachon/　

·       Le Prince Noir, Vivien Durand　　restaurant.fr/">https://leprincenoir-restaurant.fr/　

·       L opidom etoilé Fondette　　https://www.lopidom.fr/fr/　

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 executive chef at Bessou in New York.

At Lingo, with her global knowledge and experience, Emily offers original dishes, such as Hokkaido-style braised beef curry pie and Donabe hotpot with wild mushroom and koji butter.

In this episode, we will discuss how Emily’s culinary focus shifted from French to Japanese, the essence of Japanese cuisine that she wants to share with her guests, how she naturally merges French techniques and Japanese flavors, the importance of Japanese home cooking in her menu development and much, much more!!!

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 in a variety of restaurant and hotel kitchens in Japan and abroad.

In this episode, we will discuss the growing demand for sushi and Japanese cuisine chefs, what programs Tokyo College of Sushi & Washoku London offers, who is studying at the school, the joy and challenges Chef Shida faces in teaching his students and much, much more!!!

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 funds 63 tons of food.

And what makes Ikigai popular and enables such donations possible is Rafal and his team’s excellent food menu and service.  With his impressive culinary training at top restaurants under his belt, such as Masa and Eleven Madison Park in New York, he offers creative dishes inspired by Japanese traditions.

In this episode, we will discuss the unique concept of Ikigai, how Rafal got into Japanese cuisine after working at serious French kitchens, the meaning of the term Ikigai and much, much more!!!

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” (Dining in the Dark) and much, much more!!!

Our guest is Jun Mattison who is the assistant manager at The Rice Factory New York ny.com/">https://trf-ny.com/.  The Rice Factory New York is an importer, wholesaler and retailer of premium rice.  The company offers the best taste and flavor possible by fully controlling the quality of rice from farming, storing, milling and transporting.  

Rice is eaten all over the world but for Japanese people, it has particularly a special place in their hearts.  In Japan, rice is treated not as a side dish but as the main character of the meal.  Also, it is a symbol of love.  For example, people make rice balls for someone to express care and affection.

In this episode, we will discuss the unique Japanese mindset about rice, why Japanese rice is unique and can offer outstanding taste, texture and flavor, how to cook rice to maximize its deliciousness and much, much more!!!

IG:@junrainfall@the_rice_factory_NY

Our guest is Phillip Frankland Lee who is the chef/owner of Sushi by Scratch.  Sushi by Scratch Restaurants began in Los Angeles and New York marks its tenth location, which opened in September 2024.

Phillip is known for innovative omakase-style sushi preparations, while still respecting the values set by sushi masters. For example, he uses premium seafood mostly from the Toyosu Market in Japan and he imports rice from Toyoama Prefecture and mills it in-house.  On the other hand, he pays homage to his American upbringing by flavoring hamachi yellowtail with sweet corn pudding and topped with a sprinkle of sourdough breadcrumbs.

Sushi has come a long way in the U.S. since the 1960s when it was introduced to the general public for the first time.  Sushi is now one of the most popular foods in the U.S. and great talents like Phillip seem to be making it uniquely American.  

Our guest is George Kao who is the head of sales at Boken Sake https://www.drinkboken.com/　based in New York.  Boken Sake is a unique concept.  The company collaborates with authentic Japanese sake breweries and produces sake under the Boken brand.

Many sake breweries consider expanding to overseas markets, but a lot of them are family-owned small businesses without enough resources to make it happen.  Boken can effectively create a path for them to get into the American market and American consumers can have opportunities to taste their precious craft sake.

George is an ideal talent to execute Boken’s mission with his rich and unique background in Japanese food, in particular Japanese sake.

In this episode, we will discuss the unique concept of Boken Sake, the sake Boken has produced with a 540-year-old brewery, great ways to enjoy sake with non-Japanese food and much, much more!!!

Our guest is Ririko Tatsumi who is the founder of Annn based in New York.  Annn is truly a unique concept.  Traditional Japanese sweets are called Wagashi.  One of Wagashi’s key ingredients is An, or Anko, a bean paste made with different kinds of beans from red, and white to green.  Not just colors, their flavors are diverse and it is fun to discover how simple beans can create rich flavors in Japanese sweets.  That is why Ririko decided to introduce the charm of An to a global audience in the modern American context.

In this episode, we will discuss what An is, what types of An you can enjoy, how traditional An can be creative in the context of global sweet recipes and much, much more!!!

Our guest is John Gauntner who is one of the world’s leading non-Japanese sake experts and educators.  He has been writing and lecturing about sake since 1994, in various newspapers and magazines in Japan and overseas. He has published six books on sake across two languages, and hundreds of articles on the topic.  Several times each year, he runs the world.com/sake-professional-course/">Sake Professional Course, a week-long intensive sake study course, held both in and outside of Japan, as well as the advanced level of that course.

John joined us in Episode 25 in December 2015 and discussed his intriguing path to becoming a sake expert, why sake was gaining popularity in the world, how to get to know more about sake and many other topics.

Sake has become popular globally over the last decades but we tend to think that sake is something to drink only at Japanese restaurants.  However, more non-Japanese restaurants are serving sake, including new American restaurants Michelin-starred Per Se, Blue Hill At Stone Barns and Eleven Madison Park in New York.

In this episode, we will discuss food pairings, in particular sake and non-Japanese food!!!