Our guest is Michael Tremblay who is a Sake Samurai, international sake judge, sake sommelier, and certified sake educator based in Toronto, Canada. 

Michael is also the co-author of the excellent new book “Exploring the World of Japanese Craft Sake: Rice, Water, Earth” from Tuttle Publishing. This book is not an ordinary book on sake. It not only covers the basics of sake with unique insights but also discusses more advanced topics such as new rice varieties and water mineral contents and how these elements articulate the terroir in each region. 

But make no mistake, this book is a fun read rather than a textbook, although you would learn so much from it without trying. You will also get to meet people from 35 breweries and other key players in the sake industry, such as koji providers and female toji. 

In this episode, we will discuss how Michael became a renowned sake expert and educator, intriguing topics featured in his new book, including the latest trends of popular sake rice, how newly developed flower yeasts are changing the flavors of sake, Japan’s diverse regional terroir, and much, much more!!!

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Our guest is Zach Mangan who is the co-founder of Kettl, the Japanese tea importer and distributor based in Fukuoka, Japan and New York. 

Zach joined us in Episode 44 and talked about his love and passion for Japanese tea. Now, six years later, Zach has lots of updates to share with us. 

In this episode, we will discuss this fascinating new book, Stories of Japanese Tea: The Regions, the Growers, and the Craft, what Zach offers at his new café and gallery in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, the latest Japanese tea trends in New York City, and much, much more!!! 

Photo Courtesy of Liz Clayman.

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Our guest today is Akira Shimizu who is the associate professor of History at Wilkes University and his focus has been our favorite topic: food. 

Professor Shimizu recently published an intriguing book titled, “Specialty Food, Market Culture, and Daily Life in Early Modern Japan: Regulating and Deregulating the Market in Edo, 1780–1870”. 

The book features the very unique period of Japanese history. The Edo era was a more peaceful time than ever thanks to the strong leadership of the shoguns. But because of the strong shoguns, the food supply system was highly regulated and manipulated back then. Professor Shimizu unfolds how the system unfairly worked for small players and how they tried to change it with fascinating examples. 

In this episode, we will discuss how the shoguns managed to eat the best of the best foods in the market, how privileged merchants enjoyed and suffered their status at the same time, how ordinary citizens bravely challenged the system, lessons we can learn from the Edo period, and much, much more!!!

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Our guest is Andy Matsuda, the founder and master sushi chef of Sushi Chef Institute in Los Angeles, California. 

Traditionally, sushi-making was something not to be taught, but what you patiently learn by watching your master for years and years. But Andy’s work experience in the U.S. and deep understanding of the global sushi market led him to open the sushi school in 2002. Since then, many successful graduates have been offering sushi to the world and increasing its popularity even further. 

In this episode, we will discuss how Andy became a master sushi chef himself, why he decided to open a sushi school in the U.S., a life-changing event that triggered his decision to do so, what Sushi Chef Institute provides to students, episodes of successful graduates, and much, much more!!!

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Our guest is Blake Richardson who is the president and owner of Moto-i in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Moto-i opened as a sake brewery and brewpub in 2008. There are around 20 craft sake breweries in the U.S. now, but when Blake started Moto-i, there was not much information available about Japanese sake in English, not to mention other craft breweries to learn from. 

Blake also runs a sake rice milling company called Minnesota Rice and Milling, which is important for American sake brewers, considering difficulties in getting premium sake rice in the U.S. 

In this episode, we will discuss why Blake decided to open a sake brewery in Minneapolis, how he studied sake production, his sake-making philosophy, why he started the sake rice milling business, and much, much more!!!

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Our guest is Mehdi Alexandre Medhaffar, who is a kurabito, or a brewmaster’s support, at Terada Honke in Chiba Prefecture near Tokyo. Mehdi is Franco-Tunisian and he has made sake at five breweries in Japan for the last 8 years. 

Terada Honke is distinctively unique and known for its strong focus on natural sake-making. Here, we are not talking about a natural-oriented brewing style but a never-ending pursuit of minimum intervention to maximize the power of nature. The brewery was founded 349 years ago but its philosophy shifted towards natural fairly recently. 
　
In this episode, we will discuss why Mehdi decided to pursue his career in sake-making, why Terada Honke chose to become a natural sake brewer, its mind-blowingly unique sake, and much, much more!!!

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japan, japanese, japanese food, japanese cuisine, washoku, Japanese culture, japan eats!, Rintaro, Izakaya, sylvan Mishima Brackett, akiko katayama, heritage radio network, food radio

Our guest is Sylvan Mishima Brackett, who is the chef and owner of Izakaya Rintaro in San Francisco’s Mission district. Shortly after its opening in 2014, Rintaro was included in Bon Appetit magazine’s Top 10 New Restaurant list and has been beloved by many diners for the last 8 years. 

Born in Japan and raised in California, Sylvan has a unique and beautifully balanced approach to Japanese food culture. He also worked for the iconic American chef Alice Waters for years who has deeply influenced his view of food. 

In this episode, we will discuss why the son of a Japanese temple carpenter decided to become a chef, Sylvan’s apprenticeship at traditional restaurants in Japan, how he integrates Japanese and American food cultures at his restaurant Rintaro, his favorite Japanese kitchen equipment, and much, much more!!!

Are you a business owner? Become an HRN business member! For $500 HRN will shine a light on your work AND you will help sustain our mission to expand the way people think about food. As a thank you for this tax-deductible donation, your business will receive on-air mentions, social media posts, listings on our website and more. Go to heritageradionetwork.org/biz to become a business member today

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Our guest is Marcin Miller who is the founding partner of the Kyoto Distillery in Japan. The distillery is the maker of the award-winning beautiful Japanese-style craft gin called KI NO BI. 

Before he co-founded the Kyoto Distillery in 2014, Marcin has been in the spirits industry for a long time as a writer, importer, distributor and consultant. 

Until very recently, no one would have expected that Japanese-made gin would become popular nationally as well as globally, but the Kyoto Distillery initiated the current Japanese gin boom. Marcin and his business partners David and Noriko Croll launched KI NO BI in October 2016 and popular brands like Roku, Sui, Nikka Coffey and other craft labels quickly followed. As a result, in 2020, the sales of Japanese gin exceeded those of imported brands in the country.

In this episode, we will discuss why the British spirit writer ended up starting a distillery in Kyoto, what is special about Japanese-style gin, why the terroir of Kyoto can produce a unique gin, the latest and the future of Japanese-style gin and much, much more!!!

Are you a business owner? Become an HRN business member! For $500 HRN will shine a light on your work AND you will help sustain our mission to expand the way people think about food. As a thank you for this tax-deductible donation, your business will receive on-air mentions, social media posts, listings on our website and more. Go to heritageradionetwork.org/biz to become a business member today.

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Our guest is Bob Florence, who is the founder of Moromi based in Connecticut. At Moromi, Bob produces hand-crafted, small-batch Japanese-style fermented products such as shoyu, miso, hot sauces, and other condiments.

Bob studied how to make authentic Japanese fermented products in Japan and uniquely integrate the Japanese tradition and local flavors of coastal Connecticut. 

In this episode, we will discuss how an industrial chemist became an artisanal food producer, why Japanese-style fermentation is distinctively unique, how Bob learned Japanese-style fermentation, different types of Japanese soy sauces Bob makes, and much, much more!!!

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Our guest is Ken Suzuki, the founder of the Suzuki Farm in Delaware, which opened in 1983. 

In the last 39 years, Ken has devoted himself to introducing native Japanese vegetables and fruits to America. He and his team grow a variety of Japanese produce on their 28-acre land and harvest more than 30 kinds of crops throughout the year. 

I have been hearing about Suzuki Farm through Japanese and non-Japanese chefs who look for the uniquely delicate flavors of Japanese vegetables. 

In this episode, we will discuss why Japanese-born Ken Suzuki decided to farm in the US, what kinds of Japanese crops he grows, how unique and special they are, how you can use them in your kitchen, and much, much more!!!

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