With 8 James Beard nods already, 2025 might finally be Jesse Ito’s year – not that he’s worried about it

Jesse Ito is somewhat of a James Beard Award pro at this point in his career The chef who is a finalist for this year s Best Chef Mid-Atlantic award has received eight nominations from the culinary foundation over the years Just last year he was the sole finalist from Philadelphia in that same category And yet Ito has never indeed taken home the bacon He is still waiting on his culinary Oscar I don t have any expectations This is my fifth time as a finalist so I ve lost quite a bit he joked Ito s restaurant Royal Sushi Izakaya has been lauded since its opening in The restaurateur took over the spot with his father Masaharu Matt Ito My dad is a Japanese chef from Japan he explained My mom s from Korea and they did have a Japanese restaurant in Jersey for years So I implement a lot of my upbringing and those different foods into my cuisine or into my food Professionally I m a Japanese chef but I also put selected of my mom s flair in there Royal Sushi Izakaya has become a household name in part because of its omakase experience an specific eight-seat bar where Ito creates a -course tasting menu for each diner The tamago tufu at Royal Sushi Izakaya Courtesy of Royal Sushi Izakaya The tasting menu allows him to serve what he believes is the best of the best You re essentially trusting the chef to procure the best prepared food at the highest technical level served at the right temperature right pacing in the right order Ito puts a great amount of care into curating his food While multiple of the dishes served at Royal Sushi Izakaya are prepared raw there is a lot more that goes into them than just slicing up fish For example Ito likes to change diners preconceptions about items like fish liver or squid Lately he s really gotten into mackerel even though a large number of consider it to be as he says a fishy fish Strong-tasting mackerels are honestly one of the most of flavorful fish It s just that because of the oil content in them if they re paired incorrectly or if it s not fresh it can get really strong in a bad way he disclosed How I do my mackerel is very technical To make sure that eaters aren t overwhelmed with mackerel flavor Ito makes sure to buy quality products which he salt cures and bathes in a vinegar response That process is different for each chef Particular do it a lot longer Selected do a lot less And that s what makes mackerel really stand out he explained The salt process is extracting the moisture and then it allows the vinegar kind of to penetrate so you re balancing that oily flavor But that s what makes the best bite and that s why mackerel to me is my favorite The royal chirashi at Royal Sushi Izakaya Courtesy of Royal Sushi Izakaya This attention to detail is precisely why Ito has gotten so countless nods from the James Beard Foundation But could this year be the one where he conclusively receives the elusive culinary honor What s more now that Michelin is coming to the city how is he handing the new weight on his shoulders If your main passion is awards or just becoming famous then people see through that he disclosed It s not sustainable long term I love what I do and I do what I do because I just want to keep getting better If it fits into Michelin or James Beard or whatever standards then that s great But you know I do what I do because this is what I love Ito is excited to voyage to Chicago for the Beard Awards It s a great opportunity to see friends in the industry However he s also got his next project on the brain a new restaurant dancerobot which is set to open in Rittenhouse this year It s a high-energy Asian restaurant that s gonna be a lot of fun and casual and do brunch and late night and dinner he explained While the restaurant will have an s undertone it is not a theme bar I think theme bars give a little they get dated over time But there s there s an s inspiration Ito noted I love the s right dancerobot s Japanese breakfast Teishoku Photo by Jesse Ito Diners can expect dishes like katsu curry and hamburger steak with wasabi mashed potatoes For brunch anticipate delicious milk bread toasts yaki onigiri and Teishoku No matter what happens this June dancerobot will begin a new chapter for the chef one that he hopes will continue to foster love for the unique locality around him My parents had a restaurant for years he repeated I have customers that have known me since I was a kid and I ve known customers since they were kids It s a really nice part of what I do building that relationship And I think the nature of Philadelphia kind of allows that The post With James Beard nods already might conclusively be Jesse Ito s year not that he s worried about it appeared first on Billy Penn at WHYY