Orlando is stepping up its game. To outsiders, Central Florida might just look like a bunch of turkey legs and Mickey ice cream bars. But in the past decade, O-town has become home to some pretty top-notch eateries. And the powers that be are starting to take notice.

In 2022, the prestigious Michelin Guide began awarding stars to Florida restaurants. Among the first was Soseki Modern Omakase in the leafy Orlando suburb of Winter Park. The dining room has just 10 seats, and the Japanese-inspired, locally sourced dinner is always chef's choice.

That chef is Mike Collantes. In addition to owning Soseki, Chef Mike works as a restaurant consultant and interviews fellow chefs on his podcast, 86 The Podcast. In addition, he was recently a contestant on the cooking competition show Morimoto’s Sushi Master, which you can watch for free on Roku.

Chef Mike recently chatted with me about his decision to open an eatery with only 10 seats, the ripple effect of restaurant awards and a hack for sourcing better ingredients for your next at-home sushi night.

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