Our guest is Makoto Okuwa, who is the chef/partner of multiple, highly popular Japanese restaurants in the U.S. and other major cities in the world, including Makoto at Bal Harbour in Miami, Love Makoto in Washington D.C., and Makoto Vail in Colorado. Makoto’s success did not come easily. He started cooking at the age of 15 in Japan, training under master chefs for a decade and moved to Washington D.C. in 2001. Under Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto, his new life in America was another hardworking process of learning a foreign language and culture, how to read American diners’ minds, not to mention honing his culinary skills. In this episode, we will discuss how Makoto got into cooking at such a young age, why he decided to challenge himself in America, what he learned from his mentor/master chefs, the reasons behind his success on the global stage, and much, much more!!!