Japan Eats!

Our 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 tequila business, her philosophy of making great tequila, challenges she faces in running the business, why she is committed to charitable causes through her tequila business and much, much more!!!Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Japan Eats! by becoming a member!Japan Eats! is Powered by Simplecast.

Our 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 happiness. And the book is extremely helpful to understand Japanese culture broadly and deeply. Also, Scott has a unique relationship with food. He has cooked in professional kitchens in the past and wrote "Back of the House", a book about chef’s mentality in the kitchen. In this episode, we will discuss how Scott became interested in Japan, how we can attain happiness in the Japanese way, his unique experiences in restaurant kitchens, what he learned from them and much, much more!  Heritage Radio Network is a listener supporte

Our 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 Japan Society’s President & CEO Joshua Walker.   In that video, Jeremy explained how he conquered an incredibly challenging experience of survival, which we are going to talk about and how he uses his learning from the experience to empower others.　Jeremy's mindset and the concept of flow are deeply related to Japanese culture (and he is half Japanese too!).  In this episode, we will discuss Jeremy’s truly inspiring personal story that made him who he is now, the concept of flow state, his 86-year-old father-in-law’s philos

Our 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 author of 6 cookbooks, including the award-winning “Washoku: Recipes from the Japanese Kitchen”, “Kibo: Recipes and Stories from Japan's Tohoku” and “Kansha: Celebrating Japan's Vegan and Vegetarian Traditions” In this episode, we will discuss Donburi.  Donburi is one of the most popular comfort foods in Japan.  It is as popular as ramen in Japan but it is not well-known outside the county.  Join us to discover what donburi is, why it is so popular in Japan, what flavor variations it has, how to make donburi at home and much, much mo

Our 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 Japan, why she decided to stay in Japan when the job was completed, what is special about Japanese culture for her and much, much more!In March, HRN began producing all of our 35 weekly shows from our homes all around the country. It was hard work stepping away from our little recording studio, but we know that you rely on HRN to share resources and important stories from the world of food each week. It’s been a tough year for all of us, but right now HRN is asking for your help. Every dollar that listeners give to HRN provi

Our 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 in the East Village. (If you are interested in Mr. Yagi’s intriguing life and inspiration, listen to Episode 14.) Sakura joined the T.I.C. Group 8 years ago and has been working hard to keep the company authentic as well as fresh and modern. In this episode, we will discuss why Sakura decided to work for his father, challenges she faces in managing the diverse collection of Japanese restaurants, what is happening in the Japanese food culture in NYC, how she is coping with the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic and m

Our 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 due to the coronavirus.  But Yuu has done a fantastic job to support essential workers for two months before reopening Mifune.  In this episode, we will discuss Yuu’s fascinating culinary journey, how he skillfully merges French and Japanese cuisine at Mifune, his charity work for the essential workers in the midst of the pandemic and much, much more!!!In March, HRN began producing all of our 35 weekly shows from our homes all around the country. It was hard work stepping away from our little recording studio, but we know that

Our 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 weekly shows from our homes all around the country. It was hard work stepping away from our little recording studio, but we know that you rely on HRN to share resources and important stories from the world of food each week. It’s been a tough year for all of us, but right now HRN is asking for your help. Every dollar that listeners give to HRN provides essential support to keep our mics on. We've got some fresh new thank you gifts available, like our limited edition bandanas.Keep Japan Eats on the air: become an HRN Member today

Our 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 expresses his philosophy at Hirohisa, how is coping with the challenges caused by the coronavirus and much, much more!!! In March, HRN began producing all of our 35 weekly shows from our homes all around the country. It was hard work stepping away from our little recording studio, but we know that you rely on HRN to share resources and important stories from the world of food each week. It’s been a tough year for all of us, but right now HRN is asking for your help. Every dollar that listeners give to HRN provides essential support

Our 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 participated in a global culinary competition called the Washoku World Challenge and went to Japan last February. And she won the precious second prize. In this episode, we will discuss Yael's experience at the competition, the new restaurant she and Elena are planning to open, how they are coping with the challenging circumstances surrounding the coronavirus and much, much more!!!In March, HRN began producing all of our 35 weekly shows from our homes all around the country. It was hard work stepping away from our little recor

Our 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 it into coveted whisky labels in the US.  n this episode, we will discuss the unique flavor profile of barrel-aged shochu, the Japanese regulation to restrict sales of dark-colored shochu, how it can be sold in the US as whisky and much, much more!!!Japan Eats! is powered by Simplecast. 

Our 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 Eats is powered by Simplecast.

My 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 joined us on Episode 135 and discussed his mind-blowing and effective ways to use koji.  In this episode, we will discuss what is in their fascinating new book - what koji is, why it is so special and powerful in producing great flavors, what you can make with it in both traditional and modern ways and much, much more!!!  Japan Eats is powered by Simplecast. 

In 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. 

Our guest is Shinobu Kato who is the owner and brewer of Kato Sake Works in Bushwick, Brooklyn.  Shinobu soft-opened his sake brewery in March 2020 after several years of dreaming and careful planning while working as IT project manager at a major corporation in the US.As you may know, New York City already has the first sake brewery Brooklyn Kura in Industry City, which opened in 2017.  The owners Brian Polen and Brandon Doughan joined us twice (Episodes 105 & 176) to discuss their experience of opening and managing a craft sake brewery outside Japan.  Now here is the second craft sake brewery in New York City where Shinobu makes unique sake that is both authentic and American.  In this episode, we will discuss how Shinobu got into sake, his life philosophy that prompted him to a new career, the challenges he has been facing in making Japanese sake abroad and much, much more!Japan Eats! is powered by Simplecast. 

Our guest is Amanda Cohen who is the chef and owner of Dirt Candy in Lower East Side and co-owner of Lekka Burger in Tribeca in Manhattan.  Amanda has been cooking vegetarian food for the last 20 years, since when vegetarians were in the absolute minority.  She is a James Beard Award-nominated chef and definitely a pioneer of the vegetable-forward movement in the US.  Amanda visited Japan in December 2019 to discover vegetarian food culture in the country.  Japan is a Buddhist society and had the heavily restrictive meat consumption policy that lasted 1200 years until the end of 19th century.  In this episode, we will discuss what Amanda discovered in Japan, how she applies the discoveries to her dishes in New York City, what vegetarian cuisine means in our modern society and much, much more!!! Japan Eats! is powered by Simplecast.

Our guest is Atsushi Kono who is the chef de cuisine at Chikarashi Isso in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan. Previously Atsushi was the executive chef and General Manager at Torishin, which is the destination for authentic yakitori in New York City. Chikarashi Isso opened in October 2019 and serves beautiful yakitori by Atsushi along with the executive chef Michael Jong Lim’s kappo-style Japanese dishes. Sushi and ramen became familiar terms around the world, but not many people know enough about yakitori. Yakitori simply means grilled chicken, but profound skills and craftsmanship are behind it. In this episode, we will discuss what yakitori is, how Atsushi got into the world of yakitori, why cooking ostensibly simple chicken skewers requires years to master and much, much more!!! Japan Eats! is powered by Simplecast. 

Our guest is Massud Ghaussy who has a Japanese food and restaurant blog on instagram under TokyoManhattan. His posts not only describe restaurants he has visited, but also include many other elements behind the dishes, such as history, culture, cooking methods. He appeared on Episode 125, 136 and 152 and shared his favorite Japanese chefs and restaurants in Paris, NY and in Tokyo as well as sushi restaurants in NY and Tokyo. In this episode, we will continue our conversation with Massud, but the theme is not his favorite restaurants. In order to help you to understand Japanese food more deeply, we will discuss different genres of Japanese cuisine and how they were created. For example, what is honzen ryori? It is the mother of kaiseki cuisine created by samurais! Also, we will talk about various concept of taste and flavors that are unique to Japanese cuisine such as umami and kokumi.  Japan Eats! is powered by Simplecast.  

Our guest is Marc Krampe who is the chef and owner of Southern Hospitality Kitchens in Lafayette, Louisiana.Marc has a unique relationship with Japanese cuisine through his wife’s heritage. His interest in Japanese food has developed over time and now he beautifully incorporates Japanese and Southern American elements on his dishes. Marc is also a chef devoted to sustainability. In this episode, we will discuss Marc's unique family background, how he studied Japanese cooking, his efforts to be local, sustainable and global at the same time, and much, much more!Japan Eats!  is powered by Simplecast. 

Our guests are Alexis Agliano Sanborn and Chris Whittaker.  Alexis joined us on Episode 106 in 2018 to discuss the production of her new film “Nourishing Japan”. She is the producer and director of the film and now it is finally on view.  Chris is a professional composer, conductor and pianist, and he created beautiful songs for the film. Their new film “Nourishing Japan” introduces us to the unique Japanese food education philosophy through an example of the unique school lunch programs at an elementary school in the Tohoku region.  Healthy eating has become an important subject globally in recent years. The Japanese government enacted new legislation for food education, or Shokuiku, in 2005 to improve Japanese people’s diet and lifestyle of all ages.  The film inspires us to think what food education can do to our healthy mind, body and beyond. In this episode, we will discuss the philosophy of Japanese food education, how the Japanese school lunch programs differ from those in the US and other countries, w