Kitchen Stage Demonstration
Featured Chefs

The following three chefs will demonstrate their skills at the Japanese Food & Sake Festival. Pick your favorite chef and come join us at their time of performance. (Warning: The amount of servings from this demonstration is very limited and is on a first come first serve basis)

Chef Goto
Kitayama Restaurant

Located in Newport Beach, Kitayama restaurant has been known to be the best place to go for a truly authentic Japanese meal since 1989. They have private tatami rooms for secluded dinner settings and a stunning Japanese garden to add to their already delicious dishes. Their head chef, Chef Seiichi Goto, was born in Tokyo, Japan. After improving his skills at several restaurants for seven years, Chef Goto moved to California in 1998 to work for Kitayama.

Although California’s warm weather helps us save money on the wardrobe, we miss out on the ice-cold watermelons on humid summer nights and most of all, actually having snow on Christmas. Japan’s obvious change throughout its four seasons gave birth to many seasonal dishes that appear and taste appropriate to the current season. At the Japanese Food & Sake Festival, Chef Goto will bring to you a piece of Japan’s shiki (four seasons) by presenting five dishes, all with the theme of Japan’s spring and the Hinamatsuri Festival, the day to pray for young girl’s growth and happiness. Merging spring’s cherry blossoms and an auspicious fish, Tai snapper, to celebrate this festive day, Chef Goto will certainly make you salivate for another bite.

Demonstration: 7:00pm - 7:30pm

Chef Uechi
Katsu-ya Restaurant

Born in Okinawa, Japan, Chef Katsuya Uechi began his career as a chef at the Harbor View Hotel in Okinawa. He moved to Los Angeles to challenge his skills 22 years ago at various sushi restaurants and opened his first Sushi Katsu-Ya location in Studio City in 1997. Since then, Katsu-ya has opened up five restaurants and its been known for their quality and attention to detail in every dish.

The transparent ocean and most importantly, the island food that is known to be the healthiest diet in the world, makes Okinawa Japan’s paradise. At this year’s Japanese Food & Sake Festival, Chef Uechi will be holding two demonstrations. For his first demonstration, he will be cutting a whole tuna into a bite size nigiri sushi for the audience. For the second demonstration, he will offer you a taste of his hometown by serving tuna carpaccio with a hint of Shikuwasa juice, an Okinawan citrus fruit. Shikuwasa is known to regulate your blood pressure, blood sugar and vitamin C. Come join Chef Uechi to experience this rare dish and go home healthy the Okinawa way.

Demonstration: 7:45pm - 8:15pm

Chef Shima
Katana Restaurant / Sushi Roku

Chef Hiroshi Shima was born in Hokkaido, Japan where he learned the art of traditional Kaiseki cuisine, traditional multi-course Japanese dinner, by training under several master chefs in Kyoto. After 15 years of training, Chef Shima moved to Los Angeles to explore western cooking styles and joined Sushi Roku Hollywood 14 years later. He was soon promoted to be Executive Sushi Chef and now he over sees all four Sushi Roku's as well as KATANA restaurant in the heart of Hollywood.

The world’s sandai chinmi, or the top three culinary delicacies are known to be cavier, truffle and foie gras. The three best-known chinmi of Japan are pickled sea urchin roe (uni), pickled mullet roe (karasumi) and pickled sea cucumber guts (konowata). Chef Shima will give you the opportunity to try a dish that would include one of the world’s and one of Japan’s top three culinary delicacies. For this year’s Japanese Food & Sake Festival, Chef Shima will prepare a kelp-marinated fish sashimi with karasumi and truffle toppings. Yes! Karasumi AND truffle as the toppings. His demonstration at this event will sure be an experience you’ll never forget.

Demonstration: 6:15pm - 6:45pm