Inside the Kitchen: Seven Questions with Chef Kazuhito Mabuchi of Namo

Karaage. Any style.

When I think of the foods I loved growing up, I think of chicken sashimi, or chicken grilled over charcoal but not cooked all the way through. I used to compete in judo, and before competitions, my friends and I would barbecue and make that chicken. That’s scary for a lot of people here: uncooked chicken or chicken cooked medium.

The food must be good. That’s first. We also have to serve everything at the right time, at the right temperature, on the right plate. I don’t want a guest to feel any stress while dining in my restaurant. I never want guests to think they need their table wiped. It should be wiped. I don’t want a guest to need a water refill. The glass should be refilled before the need strikes.

In Japan, famous sushi chefs train students for five years, 10 years, even 30 years. Then those students go on to open their own restaurants. Diners trust them because they know where they got their training, and that helps those chefs succeed. That’s what I want for the chefs who work for me. I train them on every detail—how to handle the fish, how to cut it, how to control temperature. I want to make it easier for them to have careers once they’re no longer working for me. I also want to train someone to take over for me one day at Namo, and then I’d like to open another restaurant.

Chef Michinobu Mizukami of Sushi Mizukami in Tokyo is my dream chef. I like his character. I like his work. I’ve always wanted to eat in his restaurant.

Cooking is philosophy. Cooking is personality. Everyone’s version of the same recipe will taste different. Even the way each person touches the ingredients is different. That’s why you have to bring passion to your cooking. Diners will taste it.

Karaage and rice.