Japan Eats!

Our guest is Jeff Cioletti, the author of “Sake-Pedia: A Non-Traditional Guide to Japan’s Traditional Beverage”. Japanese sake is becoming popular in the US, which is now the biggest importer of the national beverage of Japan. But it is hard to find an easy and fun guidebook of sake. Jeff’s book is very handy for someone who is curious about it, for both beginners and connoisseurs. We will discuss why Jeff wrote the book, what you can learn from the book, what he learned from writing the book, and much, much more! Japan Eats is powered by Simplecast.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 Derek Wilcox who studied Kaiseki cuisine at the 3 michelin-starred restaurant Kikunoi in Kyoto, and Edomae sushi at Ginza Sushi Aoki in Tokyo, also Michelin-starred, for 10 years in total. Now he is the chef at Shoji at 69 Leonard Street in Tribeca, New York, which earned a precious 3 star rating from the New York Times. Many cooks aspire to study Japanese cuisine in Japan, but it is not easy because of language and cultural barriers. Derek’s background is impressive and refreshing. In this episode, we will find out how he conquered challenges at the traditional (yet forward-minded) restaurants in Japan, how he interprets Japanese food culture, how he expresses the idea on his menu at 69 Leonard Street, and much, much more! Japan Eats is powered by Simplecast.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 Maribel Lieberman, CEO and Founder of MarieBelle Chocolates in New York. She now has 8 locations of MarieBelle Chocolates worldwide, including 4 shops in Japan. In this episode, Maribel discusses her experience with Japanese culture through the fascinating project of bringing her iconic brand to Japan. Japan Eats is powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Our guest today is George Weld who is the owner of the iconic Brooklyn restaurant Egg that has served local and sustainable food since 2005. Many of the menu items are made with produce from his own farm in upstate New York. American cuisine is not very visible in Japan, but George introduces the essence of American dishes through Egg in Tokyo, which opened in 2017, and now he has the second location at a cool museum in Tokyo. In this episode will discuss Egg’s unique and fascinating concept, how George brought it to Japan, his experience and discoveries in Japan, and much, much more!!! Image courtesy of Diaspora Co. Japan Eats! is powered by Simplecast.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 Taichi Manabe, chief operating officer of Food Hub, which is a unique project to revive the declining community in Shikoku island of Japan through food. Taichi wanted to change the world through design, but he realized that food has a bigger and stronger influence for his purpose. He has gotten involved in multiple fascinating food projects before he became the COO of Food Hub, which is based in a small town with a population of 5,300 in Shikoku Island. We will discuss why food is important for our community, and Taichi's very local yet global projects!!! Japan Eats is powered by Simplecast.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 Ron Silver, who is the chef/owner of Bubby’s. Bubby’s opened in 1990, and is now one of the iconic American restaurants in NYC, serving delicious breakfast, burgers pancakes as well as beautiful pies. What you may not know about Bubby’s is that there are six Bubby’s restaurants in Japan! We will discuss why Ron decided to open Bubby’s in Japan and his unique experience with the Japanese market and culture, how Ron is inspired by Japan as a chef, and much, much more! Japan Eats is powered by Simplecast.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 Yuki Minakawa, the beverage and service director of Sushi Ginza Onodera in NYC, which has 2 Michelin stars. Yuki has worked at the NYC’s top Japanese restaurants, such as Masa, EN Japanese Brasserie and Kajitsu, for the last 10 years. She is in charge of the wine, sake and cocktail lists at Sushi Ginza Onodera. You might think sushi has to be paired with sake, but Yuki introduces you to many other interesting possibilities that will enrich your dining experience!!! Japan Eats is powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

David Israelow is the global winner of the 5th Washoku World Challenge, which is a cooking contest where chefs from around the world compete in technical expertise and passion for Japanese food. David joins the host Akiko Katayama to discuss how he studied traditional kaiseki cuisine, how he expresses it uniquely on his plates, his experience at the Tokyo Sushi Academy, the documentary film he is working on, and much, much more!!! Japan Eats is powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode, the Sakemen (judo wrestlers/superheroes) joins me to discuss traditional sake breweries they closely work with and why they are so precious!!! Japan Eats is powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This is an episode from Manga Sensei, which is one of the most popular Japanese language learning podcasts. The host John Dinkel majored in Japanese language in college and lived in Japan as well. So he has deep experience in Japanese language and culture. If you are willing to learn Japanese, I suggest that you subscribe to John’s super-approachable and effective podcast Manga Sensei on iTunes, Stitcher and Spotify. John invited Akiko Katayama, the host of Japan Eats! to his podcast as a guest, and had a fun conversation about Japanese food culture. I hope you will find this episode a nice little window to peek into Japanese mindset and culture! Japan Eats is powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.