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!!!