https://yamatozakura.com/　

https://www.thespiritofjapan.com/

Our guests are Stephen Lyman and Joseph Overbey who have produced the documentary The Spirit of Japan. It is the story of the Wakamatsu family, who have been making the traditional Japanese distilled spirit, shochu, at their Yamatozakura Distillery in Kagoshima Prefecture since the 1850s.

The duo follows the life of Yamatozakura’s 5th generation toji/master distiller Tekkan Wakamatsu and how the distillery’s tradition is being passed down from the 4th generation toji and Tekkan’s father Kazunari Wakamatsu.

The film is beautifully shot and captures many aspects of Tekkan’s career, life with his family and the shochu industry.

In this episode, we will discuss how Joseph and Stephen got involved in Yamatozakura Distillery, what they want to communicate to the audience through the film, gifts and challenges of succeeding a traditional family business, what is happening with the Japanese shochu industry right now and much, much more!!!

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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 co-owner Katina Connaughton.

Kyle began his culinary career in L.A. with an apprenticeship at one of the oldest Japanese restaurants in the city, followed by training at top restaurants, such as Spago Beverly Hills, The Dining Room at Ritz-Carlton and A.O.C. Then he moved to Japan and cooked for the famed French chef Michel Bras, as well as at traditional Japanese restaurants. On top of these diverse experiences, he also worked at the highly innovative restaurant The Fat Duck in the U.K. as the Head Chef of Research & Development.

In this episode, we will discuss how Kyle fell in love with Japanese cuisine at a very young age, how his global experiences formed his unique culinary philosophy and style, the fascinating concept of SingleThread, the idea of Omotenashi that Kyle highly values and much, much more!!!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 come easily. Taka spent 10 years at Masa, one of the best sushi restaurants in the U.S. with three Michelin stars and acquired an authentic mindset and sushi-making techniques under the master chef Masayoshi Takayama.

In this episode, we will discuss how Taka grew up in the U.S. under Japanese parents and got into cooking against their will, what he learned from the master chef Masa Takayama, the unique concept of Nami Nori, his original culinary vision that merges two cultures of Japan and the U.S., his new 10 counter-seat restaurant in Miami and Japanese bakery in New York and much, much more!!!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.