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The meez Podcast
Josh Sharkey (Entrepreneur, professional chef, and founder/CEO of meez, the culinaryOS for food professionals) interviews world class entrepreneurs in the food space that are shifting the paradigm of how we innovate and operate in our industry.
The meez Podcast
Chef Masako Morishita on Shattering The Glass Ceiling For Immigrant Women Chefs
#49. In this week's episode, Josh Sharkey sits down with the incredible Chef, Masako Morishita, whose journey from Kobe, Japan, to the United States is nothing short of inspiring.
Masako's family owns Morshita Liquor Store, a renowned restaurant and bar in Kobe that has been serving customers for almost a century. Despite not speaking English, Masako found herself in Wisconsin before eventually settling in D.C. But her story doesn't stop there.
Before embarking on her culinary journey, Masako held the prestigious position of captain within the NFL cheerleading squad for the Washington Commanders. Following her passion for dance, she soon discovered a deep-seated love for the culinary arts, setting the stage for her remarkable career in cooking.
This year, Masako was nominated as a James Beard Award semi-finalist, following her win as Eater D.C. Chef of the year in 2023. She currently serves as Executive Chef at Perry's, where her dedication to showcasing authentic Japanese cuisine beyond sushi and tempura shines through.
During our conversation, we delve into Masako's mission of educating Americans about casual Japanese cuisine and the importance of supporting immigrant women in the hospitality industry. She shares her insights on the changes she hopes to see and highlights other inspiring women in the field.
Where to find Masako Morishita:
Where to find host Josh Sharkey:
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In this episode, we cover:
(02:50) Masako's Daikon dish at Indie Chefs
(06:52) How Masako considers herself to be a rebel
(12:07) What inspired Masako to become an NFL cheerleader
(13:48) Leadership lessons learned through being captain of an NFL cheerleading team
(15:43) How growing up with parents in the restaurant industry influenced Masako
(19:56) Things that Americans misunderstand about Japanese food
(25:30) How lack of experience and being a woman immigrant caused Masako to work harder to gain success
(27:27) How Masako hires her staff
(31:43) Being a woman in a male dominated industry
(37:28) What Masako sees for her future in the industry
[00:00:00] Josh Sharkey:
You're listening to season two of The meez Podcast I'm your host, Josh Sharkey, the founder and CEO of meez, a culinary operating system for food professionals. On the show, we're going to talk to high performers in the food business, everything from chefs to CEOs, technologists, writers, investors, and more about how they innovate and operate and how they consistently execute at a high level.
[00:00:22]
Day after day. And I would really love it if you could drop us a five star review anywhere that you listen to your podcasts. That could be Apple, that could be Spotify, could be Google. I'm not picky. Anywhere works, but I really appreciate the support. And as always, I hope you enjoy the show.
[00:00:43]
My guest today is Chef Masako Morishita. Chef Masako has, well, just an incredible background and the path that she's taken to get to where she is today is a lot of what we talk about today. She's an immigrant from Kobe, Japan, and actually her family Has a restaurant there that's been open for almost a hundred years, called Morshita Liquor Store.
[00:01:04]
Anyway, she came to the States, speaking no English, was living in Wisconsin, of all places, and then ended up in D.C. Prior to cooking, she was actually the captain of the Washington Redskins cheerleading squad. Now that she has been cooking, it's been about five years and it's been quite the meteoric rise.
[00:01:22]
This year she was nominated for a James Beard. She's a semi finalist for a James Beard award. Last year she won Eater D.C. Chef of the Year. She's a chef for a restaurant called Perry's. And a lot of what we talk about today and a lot of what her passion revolves around is one, educating Americans on what Japanese cuisine is outside of obviously sushi and tempura, things like that, really specifically like casual Japanese cuisine and what it means to her and why we should be eating more of it.
[00:01:49]
Talk a lot about women in hospitality, specifically immigrant women in hospitality. I asked her. You know, what is one thing that she would love to see change? There's obviously a lot that we need to do to help. She's pretty passionate about it. She talks about some other women that are inspiring to her.
[00:02:04]
And generally just a really, you know, awesome conversation. I hadn't seen her in about two years. I met Masako at an Indie Chefs event in D.C. a couple years ago. And I vividly remember. putting daikon radish into sous vide bags and helping her with the combi oven. And she made this really incredible dish of sous vide daikon.
[00:02:22]
I think it was cooked in rice water and there was a gratin of brie cheese on top. Anyways, we reminisced a bit about that on the call and overall just had a lot of fun. So as always, I hope that you enjoyed the conversation as much as I did.
[00:02:43] Josh Sharkey:
So nice to see you.
[00:02:44] Masako Morishita:
Yeah, nice to see you too.
[00:02:46] Josh Sharkey:
It's been quite a while. I think the last time I saw you.
[00:02:49] Masako Morishita:
Few years, right?
[00:02:50] Josh Sharkey:
Yeah. I think the last time I saw you was opening up a combi oven. 'cause you were, I think you were cooking some daikon maybe in, in Dashi.
[00:02:59] Masako Morishita:
Oh, yes. Yes. For that, for the event.
[00:03:01] Josh Sharkey:
That's right. Yeah. For the indie chefs event. Mm-Hmm. . Was it daikon? I think it was daikon, yeah. Yeah.
[00:03:05] Masako Morishita:
I think I did the, the daikon dish.
[00:03:07] Josh Sharkey:
Yeah. It was really good. What was that? I don't remember. Was that, yeah.
[00:03:11] Masako Morishita:
So that was a braised daikon Mm-hmm. So yeah, I was doing like double braising. But first is like a pre, pre braise, like braising.
[00:03:20]
It's like I cooked a daikon with a little bit of like rice. And a lot of water to get rid of all the bitterness and everything, make it soft. And then second one was actually, uh, uh, soon be like slow cooking, braising with chicken kombu dashi and tamari all together and get all the flavors in.
[00:03:40] Josh Sharkey:
It was really good. Thank you, I think there was cheese on top, wasn't there?
[00:03:43] Masako Morishita:
Yeah. So I have the, a slice of Brie, like Brie cheese on the top. Yeah. Che serve with a dashi. Oh, that's right. Yeah. That's okay now.
[00:03:51] Josh Sharkey:
Now I remember the whole thing.
[00:03:52] Masako Morishita:
Yeah.
[00:03:53] Josh Sharkey:
It was, that's right. It was sou vide the dashi. And then you bruleed the brie on top. Yeah. That was really good. That was really good. Thank you. Anyways, great to have you on the show.
[00:04:02] Masako Morishita:
Yeah, thank you for having me.
[00:04:03] Josh Sharkey:
Yeah, we're live, by the way, so we're just gonna do it.
[00:04:06] Masako Morishita:
Oh, okay. Oh, okay. Yeah, this is it.
[00:04:08] Josh Sharkey:
You know, we're just, we're casual here. Are you in between services right now, or like
[00:04:14] Masako Morishita:
No, today's actually my day off, but I call it working from home day.
[00:04:19] Masako Morishita:
Nice. Nice. I love it. So yeah, I don't have to work for service. Yeah.
[00:04:24] Josh Sharkey:
So I should have fact checked this and like just texted Brad or something, but like it's your birthday recently, right?
[00:04:30] Masako Morishita:
Yes. It was on Sunday, actually. That's right. Happy birthday. Of course I was working. Yeah. Thank you. I was working for the service.
[00:04:35] Masako Morishita:
So yeah, it's just like a regular, regular day.
[00:04:39] Josh Sharkey:
Did you do any, any celebration afterwards or?
[00:04:42] Masako Morishita:
Not really. I came home probably around like 11 o'clock, so it wasn't that early. We couldn't really go anywhere. So I'm actually hoping, actually, uh, Brad, my, my husband, he's thinking about taking me to New York in March for a little bit of celebration. So yeah, we'll see. All right.
[00:05:03] Josh Sharkey:
Well, well, hopefully we, we see you guys when you're up here.
So, I have a bit of a through line for today, Masako, because I always was fascinated with your background. Yeah. And some things that I think we're gonna, we're gonna kind of weave into this conversation that I think will just be helpful for everybody.
[00:05:19] Josh Sharkey:
And that I just love about you is I feel like you're constantly like tackling these challenges where you're the underdog, you know, where you have less experience and you have less advantage and somehow you still, like, excel, right? You tried out for the cheerleading team. Yeah, I mean you somehow, like, obviously you came to this country as an immigrant.
[00:05:41]
And tried out for the Washington Redskins, now the Commanders. I think it was the Redskins when you were there, right? Yes, yes, it was, yeah. Yeah, and you were never a cheerleader before, right?
[00:05:51] Masako Morishita:
I was a cheerleader in Japan, but like, we don't have any, like, football, like, we have here. Yeah, but I was dancing there, but like, not this, like, the highest level.
[00:06:04] Josh Sharkey:
Gotcha. Yeah. As NFL. Yes. That must have been, yeah, I mean, it was, uh, I mean, that must have been scary. And then obviously fast forward, you became the captain of the team. Yeah. And then, you know, similarly, you know, you were, were cooking food for all the team. Obviously they loved it. It was delicious. They're like, what is this?
[00:06:21]
And you know, you jumped into the culinary industry, which is also really tough for a female. So you're this female immigrant with very little experience and somehow like fast forward years. And. Eater Chef of the Year, now you're nominated for a James Beard. You know, I'm just curious, like, what's driving you to take these sort of big, they're not risks, I mean, they can be risks, but they're, but also just like these big challenges where you're like, what are you telling yourself when you're deciding to take on these giant, you know, seem to be like really scary things?
[00:06:52] Masako Morishita:
Yeah, so I think myself as a rebel, as a Japanese woman, because, you know, like my, my family too, like, they didn't really like me taking risks. They really wanted me to have this like, you know, um, set life plan, which I really didn't follow at all. When I was, especially like when I decided to actually cook full time.
[00:07:20]
It was, I, it took me actually a while to pursue this because the way I was raised, you know, and I was working for a Japanese TV station, Washington Bureau, which was like stable income, you know, stable employment. So in order to ditch all that. And just jump into like something I never done before full time.
[00:07:46]
Yeah, of course it was a challenge, you know, but I think COVID was huge for me because that COVID kind of made me realize. You really never know what's going to happen in the future. So if you don't do anything you love and you want to do, when are you going to do it? Maybe like two years later, the world's going to end.
[00:08:09]
So I just had to, yeah, that was actually, you know, use your mind. This is Jamaican to jump into this.
[00:08:15] Josh Sharkey:
Isn't it so funny how like, as humans, we need these drastic things to happen for us to appreciate? The little things, you know, someone in the family passes or you come close to, you know, facing death. And then, of course, then you appreciate life so much more.
[00:08:30]
Yep. Yeah. Totally. Unless you have, I have an unnecessary, like. an unhealthy fear of never doing enough. So I'm always feeling like I need to do more. But for the most part, we always, yeah, it's weird how we need these cataclysmic things to happen in order for us to really, you know, take leaps. But you did.
[00:08:46] Masako Morishita:
Yeah, I did.
[00:08:47] Josh Sharkey:
So we'll dig a little bit more, but maybe just for folks that don't know a little bit about your background in Kobe coming here, just a little bit about your personal background, because it's actually not too far fetched that you're in the restaurant business, given your background.
[00:08:58] Masako Morishita:
Right. Yeah, so I actually, I was born and raised in Kobe, Japan. Which is like about, probably like, uh, 30, 45 minutes, a train ride from Osaka. It's a really beautiful city. I, I was raised, you know, grew up there. And my family actually have a little bar and restaurant in Kobe for close to 100 years. Actually, my, it, we just celebrated our 90s anniversary last year.
[00:09:27]
So it's almost there. So my grandparents actually started it and my parents still running the bar and restaurant and little shop as well as of today. So, and then our living space is actually above the bar and restaurant. So I come home to my parents bar restaurant. I, of course I have to help them out. I was their free labor, but always like industry is like
[00:09:52]
in my blood, but like my family really discouraged me to go into this career because they know how hard it is. They just really didn't want me to go to this route. Yeah, and then actually first time I came to the States was when I was 16 years old. I was a foreign exchange student. I, uh, spent my junior year in high school in Wisconsin, so yeah, it was quite an experience.
[00:10:19]
It was great. No Japanese people, no, even no Asian people there, so I had to use English to survive.
[00:10:26] Josh Sharkey:
Yeah. Were you fluent at the time or did you
[00:10:28] Masako Morishita:
No, like almost zero. Oh my gosh. So I was carrying like small dictionary with me all the time. Just to have like one sentence conversation with my classmates, I, it took me a while because it was, yeah, it was really hard, but that really, you know, had me practice using English.
[00:10:48]
That's one of the reasons I could like, you know, communicate with you, like other people. Better than like, probably like, you know, other Japanese people, I guess. Yeah. So that was my first time coming to the States. I spent one year there and I actually decided to do something I cannot do in Japan, which was a cheerleading.
[00:11:07]
So I didn't have any like athletic background or anything, but I'm like, okay, let's just, let's try and see how it goes, you know? And I, I made the team as a mascot first. It was Tiger. Yes. Wait, for the Redskins? That was my high school. Oh, in high school, gotcha. In Wisconsin, yes. What was the mascot? It was a tiger.
[00:11:32]
That's awesome. Yeah. So that was actually my started like my dancing career and I went back home, you know, I never thought about like doing cooking as my career. So I went to college, I went to, you know, I got the job in the office. Blah, blah, blah. But I always kept dancing. And then I always wanted to, like, try out for the highest level I could try out, which was NFL.
[00:11:55] Josh Sharkey:
Wait, why? What was it about? And I apologize for interrupting you, but not everybody thinks that, right? They, you know, a lot of people cheerlead and then don't decide to go try out for the NFL. What was it that made you want to do that?
[00:12:07] Masako Morishita:
Yeah, so I think it was early 2000s. There was a tour from NFL. They brought a bunch of cheerleaders to Japan and do clinic for Japanese cheerleaders.
[00:12:20]
That's kind of like my first interaction with the NFL cheerleaders. And I was like, Oh my God. There is like. This gorgeous, like, beautiful people, so nice and kind, and then they can dance. And I was just blown away. So, you know, I was doing the Senge thing, like cheerleading, right? Cheer dance. So, I'm like, looking at them, I'm like, hopefully, somewhere in the future, I can be like that.
[00:12:49]
So, I kind of start thinking about NFL, like, at that moment. Wow. Yeah.
[00:12:56] Josh Sharkey:
Was there any particular reason that you went to the Redskins? Commander, sorry. I keep saying the Redskins.
[00:13:02] Masako Morishita:
Yeah. Yeah. So that director of the team, she had a connection in Japan as well. She used to come to Japan every summer to do like dance classes.
[00:13:12]
I really liked her like style dances, her personality. So that's kind of like made me feel like if I want to try out, I really want to try out for her team. Yeah. Yeah. Wanted to be her, you know, all her team. So that's why I actually decided to try for Commanders. Yeah.
[00:13:32] Josh Sharkey:
Yeah. So you became the captain of the Commanders. Yes. I'm so curious because I don't know anything about how that works, how the, you know, cheerleading, especially for NFL, but I'm curious if you saw, if you've seen any parallels with what you're doing now with cooking to what you did in cheerleading and then also like any, what did you gain from that?
[00:13:48]
Like what, I'm sure there's some leadership skills and things that you now use today. I'd love to hear like any lessons.
[00:13:52] Masako Morishita:
Yeah. Leading the team. It's almost the Senge, like leading the team, you know, leading a team of cheerleaders, leading the team of the kitchen. It's completely different, like, genre, but the leading the team, that's the Senge thing.
[00:14:06]
I learned, like, everything about leadership during my tenure in, as a captain of the team. As cheerleaders, like, we had, we had probably 35 ish, like, ladies on the team. That's really hard.
[00:14:21] Josh Sharkey:
What makes that, what's the hardest part about it?
[00:14:24] Masako Morishita:
I mean, you know, a lot of people could be, you know, some people could be dramatic. I mean, there's different like personalities, they'll coming from different background, you know, to, to gather everybody together, um, to achieve like a good level of performance. That's very difficult, you know, yeah, so, and it's a kitchen too, it's exactly the Senge. We have completely different background people.
[00:14:53]
Everybody's coming from like different country in my, on my team. I only have, I probably 98 percent of my staff were, are immigrants actually, including myself. So yeah.
[00:15:07] Josh Sharkey:
In your current restaurant?
[00:15:08] Masako Morishita:
Yes. Yeah, everybody has a big different background, even when we speak different language, you know, coming from different culture, just gather everybody to achieve a goal for us to serve good Japanese comfort food.
That's the Senge, you know.
[00:15:25] Josh Sharkey:
I love that. I love that. You grew up in restaurants with your parents. I'm sure you also totally understand why they told you not to do this because I have to imagine. Not a lot of vacations, not a lot of days off, you know, they didn't have a ton of time, you know, as a child growing up in that, I'm sure that impacts you today with your restaurant.
[00:15:43]
Yes. Do you see any, anything that pops up in your, like the way that you operate or think because of the impact of your, you know, of your family from growing up in the restaurant?
[00:15:52] Masako Morishita:
You know, I have to help my parents a lot without getting paid, of course.
[00:15:57] Because I'm there, you know,
[00:15:59] Josh Sharkey:
They're paying you in love.
[00:16:01] Masako Morishita:
That's a good way to say it. . Yeah. I mean, I don't remember like, like you said, I don't remember going on vacation with my family at all. I don't even like going out with my family except like, you know, the like restaurant industry friends, like restaurants and stuff. Mm-Hmm. Yeah. Those things I still remember.
[00:16:21]
So to be honest, for me, like I am really bad at planning vacations. Because I didn't do that growing up. So even like, if I have like extra day off, I don't know what to do. Because I'm not used to it because I, I was like working and helping out like all the time. And so is my family. So, yeah.
[00:16:48] Josh Sharkey:
Yeah, it's uh, it gets so ingrained in you.
I know the feeling. I mean, I have to imagine that there was some delicious food growing up. Like, do you have any like, most memorable things that you ate often growing up in the restaurant?
[00:16:59] Masako Morishita:
Yeah, it's really hard to choose like, Uh, actually a dish, but my mom and my grandma, there's a shrimp dish. I, that's like probably like one of my favorite things, you know, still up to date, it's like, like head on prawns, uh, braised in like sweet soy, like a dashi, like reduce it, like, and then like chill it for like overnight or like a day or so.
[00:17:25]
So all the flavor actually goes inside of the shrimp. Yeah. And then I actually like, we made it not too long ago myself, but I feel like I can never be that, you know, I can never make that. Yeah, exactly. The Senge dish that my mom and my grandma made.
[00:17:45] Josh Sharkey:
Yeah. Do you serve it warm or cold? Do you like reheat it or? Cold. Ooh, that's good.
[00:17:50] Masako Morishita:
Yeah. It's like a cold shrimp dish. I know it's really good. So that's probably one of my favorite dish growing up. Um, like onigiri rice ball with little miso mixed in those days. And my, of course, like my mom cooks at our restaurant bar and my grandma too. My grandma is a great cook as well.
[00:18:10]
Both my grandma, my, my dad's side, grandma, my mom's side, grandma. So when I go to my mom's size, grandma, she knows, like she knew that I love eating. Mm-Hmm? So every time I go there, like her house, entire house, like smells like, like dashy, like soy sauce, Mirin. So every time I use those ingredients at home or at work, it's just like bringing me back to like her house, like.
[00:18:37]
Instantly. Yeah. That's like one of the things I still remember and feels like really so close to my heart. Yeah.
[00:18:44] Josh Sharkey:
I'm curious. Where do you source like katsuobushi and kombu that? Um, where are you buying that from?
[00:18:50] Masako Morishita:
Yeah. So there are like several really great Japanese vendors in D.C.. So I usually buy through them.
[00:18:59]
But actually when I, so I went to New York last year and I went to this one shop called Dashi Okume in Brooklyn, they actually do customize like dashi blend.
[00:19:12] Josh Sharkey:
Oh, wow.
[00:19:12] Masako Morishita:
Yeah. So when I have like special occasions, like some like, you know, important like charity dinner that I do. I use that special blend as well.
[00:19:22] Josh Sharkey:
Oh, that's cool. You know, uh, last season I had these, these guests on from a company called Japanese Pantry out of San Francisco. Okay. And I've been buying from them forever. They have incredible products. Oh, I've heard of them. Yeah, I've heard of them. Yeah, they have this liquid Shio Koji that I don't know if you can get anywhere else.
[00:19:39]
Um, that is, I always have bottles in my house. Yeah. It's just like a, Yeah. That's umami, but I didn't realize the, you know, the different iterations of katsuobushi that they're like, that there's like smoked and smoked and fermented and different. So I went crazy and bought like 12 different kinds from them after that.
[00:19:56]
But I was curious where people buy these things. I don't know in places, but what do you think people, what do you think most Americans like misunderstand about Japanese food?
[00:20:08] Masako Morishita:
Yeah, so that's actually one of the reason I decided to cook full time as well, is that, um, people really knows about sushi, people really knows about ramen, but not so much about the food I used to grab eating, which was a Japanese comfort food.
[00:20:24]
Yeah. So it's for me, like cooking, I'm like educating people through my food in a way. I think there's still a stereotype about Japanese food that I, you know, we eat like sushi every day. No, we don't, you know, yeah. So yeah, that's kind of like one of my missions through cooking. I really wanted to, you know, introduce something people just don't know about.
[00:20:50] Josh Sharkey:
This show is brought to you by, you guessed it, meez. meez helps thousands of restaurants and food service businesses all over the world build profitable menus and scale their business successfully. If you're looking to organize your recipe IP and train your team to put out consistent product every day in less time than ever before, then meez is just for you.
[00:21:10]
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[00:21:36]
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[00:21:59] Josh Sharkey:
What's a dish, doesn't matter if it's your favorite dish, but like what's something that you think people, most people don't know about that they should?
[00:22:05] Masako Morishita:
I think it's just like the simplicity. Mm hmm. Make the flavor so good. I feel like I see a lot of like restaurant and food, I, you know, a lot of components in one dish, right?
[00:22:20]
But I think Japanese food is very simple. Like, it's probably like the main ingredients to make a flavor. It's probably like five ingredients, but just that different ratio of the ingredients make everything flavor like so different. So simple yet delicious and different. I think that's probably the people.
[00:22:43]
Really don't know about Japanese cooking.
[00:22:46] Josh Sharkey:
That's what I love so much about it is that it's so simple, but deceptively simple because you have to have, you know, you have to, each ingredient is so important. I mean, it's funny, I cook, you know, a decent amount of it at home just because It's, it's so comforting.
[00:23:02]
My wife loves, like, I'll make chawanmushi, like, once every week or two. And just because, like, you know, I have really good kombu, really good, you know, really good katsuobushi. And I'll make a dashi. And then the next day, just really good eggs. It's literally dashi and eggs. And we usually just do some braised, you know, greens on top.
[00:23:18]
And it's so good. And it's like, there's like nothing to it. And that's, and I think that, yeah, most people probably don't, unless you've gone to some sort of like really good izakaya place where you get, you know, I don't know about those things.
[00:23:28] Masako Morishita:
I feel like, you know, the food. Here the kind of food get like a lot of praise in America has a lot of components into it.
[00:23:39]
I totally understand. You know, you know, there's like a color and like crunch, like salty, sweet. That's awesome. But I really, like I said, like I'm, I wanted to educate people through my cooking. So I just want to show like the simple ingredients. can make the food really tasty as well.
[00:24:00] Josh Sharkey:
Yeah, there are a couple things that you always have to have around.
Maybe not in the restaurant, but at home that like, that everybody needs to make sure they have.
[00:24:10] Masako Morishita:
Soy sauce, of course.
[00:24:12] Josh Sharkey:
What kind of soy sauce do you typically like, what's your go to?
[00:24:15] Masako Morishita:
So, I only use one kind of soy sauce. It's called tamari soy sauce. It's gluten free. And I get the one called Sanjay Tamari.
[00:24:26]
The factory is actually in Richmond, but their headquarters in Japan is like, you know, they've been there for centuries. I really, so I actually did the soy sauce tasting in the past. And I was just amazed by like how rich the flavor is and how clean the flavor is as well. So right now in, in my home, in my, at my work, like that's the only, only soy sauce I use.
[00:24:53] Josh Sharkey:
Do you use mirin a lot?
[00:24:55] Masako Morishita:
Yes, I do. Mirin. Mirin, sake, soy sauce, miso. Those are actually the four biggest ingredients. I use like all those like four ingredients to a lot of like different dishes. Yeah. But different ratio that I can make a different flavors. Yeah. Yeah.
[00:25:14] Josh Sharkey:
Cool. Well, you know, circling back to something we were talking about earlier, you're stepping into these new ventures as an underdog, you know, you very quickly, you made a name for yourself in the culinary world and obviously you pretty quickly became, you know, captain of an NFL cheerleading squad.
[00:25:30]
Yeah. So there's, there's this notion that, you know. The lack of experience maybe has some advantages to it, but I'm curious how you think about like the advantages that you see of stepping into these new things as an underdog, as being less experienced, being greener, and how you've kind of used that to your advantage, which clearly you have in some way.
[00:25:49] Masako Morishita:
Yeah, I don't know if actually it is an advantage because I had to work probably, I had to really try and work probably like five times. It's more than, you know, people with a lot of experiences. So that actually, that's hard. I think what I'm trying to do, I mean, in terms of cooking, I think what I'm trying to do here in D.C. and here in America are a little bit different, you know, a different kind of Japanese food, different kind of flavor.
[00:26:21]
So I think that's actually, probably I'd say that's an advantage. Because I don't think a lot of people are doing the Senge thing I'm doing.
[00:26:31] Masako Morishita:
But other than that, it's just a lot of work, a lot of learning for myself, a lot of practice.
[00:26:39] Josh Sharkey:
Do you, you think about I mean, I have to imagine this probably impacts how you hire, right?
[00:26:44]
Like, meaning like, if someone doesn't have experience, you're still like, heck yeah, come on in. Do you have any sort of principles around like certain roles that you're hiring for that you want to make sure there's experience around?
[00:26:55] Masako Morishita:
Yeah. Uh, the food I'm creating, I'm cooking is, um, not really familiar with. So I really don't see the experience too much of the background, like, you know, Oh, you know, I don't really care about like, Oh, this person worked at this famous restaurant or anything like that. As long as that person is hardworking and wanted to learn. That's I think the most important thing for me.
[00:27:27] Josh Sharkey:
Is there a way you, you vent for that when you're hiring?
[00:27:30] Masako Morishita:
Yeah, I mean, like when I talk to people, I can kind of sense that, you know. Because those are the things I, it's really hard to teach. I can't teach people to work hard. That's like something they have it in themselves already. But cooking skills, making the flavors, that's teachable. So as long as like, if this person has the thing, Already that I cannot teach. Yeah. Um, it's always welcome.
[00:27:59] Josh Sharkey:
Yeah, absolutely. I love that. Well, you know, we talked about you being a female immigrant chef. I want to talk a little bit about like, you know, your thoughts on, on, on the industry as it relates to all that, but generally speaking, and I don't keep coming back to the Senge theme.
[00:28:11]
It has to be very stressful, right? You come to a country where you don't speak the language, you know, you're trying out for a team that's. I'm sure overwhelming, right? It's NFL and it's a lot of pressure stepping in a new industry of cooking and a lot of pressure there, right? And again, not having to persevere through, through a lot of the, you know, disadvantages that you might have.
[00:28:31]
Like, are there things that you use to manage stress along the way, to maintain your confidence along the way? Like things that you help tell yourself to make sure you, you know, keep that confidence as you're stepping into these new kind of challenges?
[00:28:44] Masako Morishita:
Yeah. I think most important thing is love of what you do. Yeah, I think I'm pretty, pretty good with dealing stress and like tough situation because, you know, my, my family were really tough people. So I was like, you know, always like, They were always putting me pressure all the time. So I'm kind of used to that type of like, you know, situation.
[00:29:10] Josh Sharkey:
What kind of pressure?
[00:29:12] Masako Morishita:
Yeah, like, you know, get a good grade, you know, mostly that. Like, do well in school, like, you know, those things. Yeah, and also, yeah, like, like a cheerleading too. It's always, you will always test it, like all the time. Even just to be on the game, I have to, I have, we all have to try out and show the dance. I'm from the director and if you, if they don't like how you bring it on the stage, you get cut, you know, so it's always like trial and error, like, so I'm kind of used to like those type of like a stressful situation in a way and I think being pressured because that kind of like pushes me hard.
[00:29:58]
But in order to push myself harder, is I have to have a love of what I do. And then like I said, like, um, me being lucky experience in an industry, I, like I said, I really had to work hard, like hard, much, much harder than other chefs. I just really love cooking. And when I was dancing, I really love dancing.
[00:30:24]
So the love for what you do, that actually drives me like more. I think for me that's the most important thing. So I don't mind like, you know, creating the new dish, like having brainstorming idea when I'm in the bed. I don't mind it at all because I love it so much. It actually excites me.
[00:30:44] Josh Sharkey:
Yeah. I couldn't agree more. And you know, sometimes we take that for granted. I think obviously I've cooked most of my career and now I'm doing a technology thing in the cooking world. And man, I love what I do so much and I love cooking. But. Mm hmm. A lot of people, they'd actually just never find that thing, right? Or it takes them a very long time to find it because you're so right.
[00:31:03]
If you love something, all that other stuff kind of, yeah, it's hard and it's stressful, but it doesn't. It doesn't matter nearly as much because you get to do the thing that you love. And we're really lucky. Yeah.
[00:31:16] Masako Morishita:
I feel the Senge way. Yeah.
[00:31:18] Josh Sharkey:
Yeah. You, when you and I first, well, not when we first spoke, but the last time we spoke, I think we were on a call. You were talking about just, you really want to help, you know, the women in the hospitality industry. And I'm curious, like. One, what do you see as the biggest challenges right now for, you know, for women in the industry? And then also, if you could change one, like one thing about what, you know, the construct of how it exists today, what, you know, what would that be?
[00:31:43] Masako Morishita:
Yeah. So I think what I see is still this restaurant industry is, like male, like dominated in a way. So I think even when I got a job at the current restaurant, they didn't expect the chef to be a woman like me. It was like a, like really a glass ceiling that I had to break. So a lot of, like, women chefs probably experience the Senge thing that I have been experiencing.
[00:32:14]
That's hard. You know, like I said, if you didn't, if you don't have a strong, like, mind and will, and a strong, like, personality, it's like, you, you easily give up. I think the environment that, uh, we are put in as a woman. That really needs to be changed. So that's why, like, I feel responsible, like, for myself.
[00:32:40]
Like, I really feel responsible for me to be successful. So, other, like, fellow woman chefs, especially immigrant women. I wanted to like inspire because I can do it, they can do it, you know, so that's one of the things like I always like think about and I really wanted to change and I'm hoping I am changing a little bit of like those things. Yeah. To inspire like other chefs in the industry.
[00:33:06] Josh Sharkey:
Yeah. Do you think it's, is it getting better? Is it stagnant?
[00:33:11] Masako Morishita:
For me, my environment is getting better at my restaurant. Like I said, like the restaurant I work at Perry’s, it's been there for 40 years. So it's like one of the iconic restaurant in D.C., but they never had a woman chef.
[00:33:30]
All the staff were totally unexpected, like someone like me is coming in to be a chef.
[00:33:37] Josh Sharkey:
That must have been, I'm sure it was just the environment must have been a little challenging in the beginning.
[00:33:41] Masako Morishita:
It was very challenging to be honest with you. But like, you know, people really sees you, like people sees me how hard I work and how I'm like creating dishes that are well received by the guests.
[00:33:56]
So you know, more and more like I try, more and more they accept me,
[00:34:03] of course now it's getting better.
[00:34:05] Josh Sharkey:
Yeah. It's just, it is very frustrating that notion still exists that like, that you actually have to do. Yeah. Exactly. So more than because you're a female.
[00:34:13] Masako Morishita:
So yeah. So that's the, that's the kind of like thing I wanted to create is that as a female chef, you really have to try extra hard. I really wanted to like create the environment for the female chef that we don't have to work extra hard. You know, of course we all work hard, but you know, I kind of want to change that kind of like situation that we have to do more than others.
[00:34:40] Josh Sharkey:
Do you have like an outlet of where you talk about this with other female chefs?
[00:34:44] Masako Morishita:
Yeah, we, so I have a, uh, like a small group of friends, like immigrant, like female chef. I have a great friend, um, Japanese Pastry Bakers in D.C. She's actually from Covid too. Oh, wow. We talk about this like all the time, like how we have to like really work hard, but like, she's actually changing the game, like history game in D.C. too.
[00:35:08] Masako Morishita:
So she inspires me too. Like, and I inspire too. Yeah. Yeah. I'm, I'm just trying to try to do my job really well, so, so that's. That kind of like, you know, the results that like, I can inspire like other people like me.
[00:35:23] Josh Sharkey:
So when we last talked, you mentioned that, like I asked you just if there are women that do inspire. You mentioned your mom. Mm-Hmm. . Mm-Hmm. And, and also Bobby Pradachith mom. And I'm curious, what is it about? Those two, I mean, moms are always inspiring, but you know, independent of that, like, what is it about those two that really inspire you?
[00:35:41] Masako Morishita:
Yeah. So Chef Seng, I, let me talk about Chef Seng because I love her so much. So she, yeah, Bobby's mom.
[00:35:48] Josh Sharkey:
Can you give a little like wind up of like who they are? So they, yeah. So
[00:35:52] Masako Morishita:
Bobby is a great chef. He's a friend of mine. He now lives in Seattle. She, he has this pop up concert. And, uh, his mother is, uh, actually a chef in D.C., uh, Laotian chef, and she has several restaurant in D.C.. Her food is always great.
[00:36:11]
She's very successful, but she's one of the hardworking chef that I ever know in this industry as well. The things about Chef Seng is she's always, she always care about. people around her. Like she always cared about me. She always like, you know, send me texts or message like every once in a while. Hey, how are you doing?
[00:36:32]
Even like her working so hard, but at the Senge time, she can care about like other chefs. That's like inspiring.
[00:36:44] Masako Morishita:
Yeah. So I really want it to be like her.
[00:36:45] Josh Sharkey:
It's amazing how contagious, you know, those positive actions are, you know?
[00:36:49] Masako Morishita:
Yes. And she makes me happy. Like every time I get the message or she come in and eat my food, That makes my day.
[00:36:55] Masako Morishita:
Like, that makes me really happy. So I want to be like her.
[00:36:59] Josh Sharkey:
I love that. Cool. Well, moving on a little bit because we're going to, we're wrapping up here. I know you're, I know you're busy. I always think about, you know, now I just say this too often, but I think, I always think about five years ago, if I'm not embarrassed about what I I was doing then, then I'm not growing fast enough, but I'm curious, like you're now in this new industry, right?
[00:37:19] Josh Sharkey:
It's been at least five years, I think, right? Um, since you started professionally cooking.
[00:37:23] Masako Morishita:
Actually two, two and a half years ago. Oh my gosh. Wow. Okay.
[00:37:28] Josh Sharkey:
Well, we'll do a different time horizon. How are you different from when you started? Like what's different today about you than when you started?
[00:37:35] Masako Morishita:
I think the core about me never changes, right? Like I've been working hard my entire, the two, of course, two and a half years, but the cooking wise I'm evolving like every day, like even a month before. And now, I evolved. Yeah, like, it's just, you know, the cooking, I always have like, crazy ideas that I wanted to make it happen. And I feel like that's like, the task I give it myself.
[00:38:08]
So, every time I kind of like, conquer those tasks. I feel like I'm evolving.
[00:38:14] Josh Sharkey:
Yeah. Is there something you're doing today that you're like, Wow, two and a half years ago, there's no fucking way I could be doing this. I've done this.
[00:38:21] Masako Morishita:
Yeah. So two and a half years ago, I only knew that I, I already knew. Like the cooking wise, like the older family recipe that I was doing that.
[00:38:32]
Right. But like, I get bored easily. I want to do something more, something fun. I want to think outside of the box. Because a lot of Japanese food kind of like stays the same. Like if you go to like different Japanese restaurant, their menu is kind of like similar, right? For me, that's boring. So I wanted to evolve.
[00:38:52]
Like I want to do something, like I said, outside of box. I want to use some ingredients that we don't use for Japanese cooking. And that's like really exciting. And at my, at Perry's, the restaurant I work for, I always try to put like two or three different specials every single week. So I'm constantly creating something new and fun and delicious.
[00:39:14]
So that makes me evolve. Like, that's like a huge difference. Like when I started two and a half years ago and now. I really push myself to do something, to create something fun and tasty. But I try not to be cocky, you know, like I, I don't go for just the Instagram picture. Like I really need to make sure it tastes really good.
[00:39:40]
But yeah, I just wanted to do something fun. Because if I'm having fun, like creating, then people who eat my food, they feel fun. They feel happy. So I, that's like the core philosophy I still have from like, you know, since I started, but the cooking wise, I'm like now finally be able to show it, my like happiness, my joy into my cooking. That's the difference.
[00:40:09] Josh Sharkey:
I love that.
[00:40:09] Masako Morishita:
Now I'm like, I'm still evolving, like every single week.
[00:40:13] Josh Sharkey:
You think your parents will come see you cook? I know they came to see you when you were cheerleading, but you think they'll come see you cook?
[00:40:18] Masako Morishita:
I really hope they can come, but from COVID to Washington D.C., it's like 25 hours, like plane ride.
[00:40:27]
So my parents is getting a little older, so it might be a little bit hard, but every time I go back home, I try to cook for them. So that's great. They can at least like taste my food.
[00:40:36] Josh Sharkey:
Yeah, and I'm sure they must be so proud. I tried, by the way, I tried to Google. I found the liquor store. I found Morishita Liquor Store, but I couldn't find the restaurant.
[00:40:45] Josh Sharkey:
I think I just wasn't searching. I searched Morishita, liquor store, Morishita restaurant.
[00:40:50] Masako Morishita:
Yeah, the bar restaurant is attached to the shop, actually. It's a small, like, standing bar style bar. It's really tiny, so maybe it's like hard to like Google in English.
[00:41:03] Josh Sharkey:
Oh, yeah, probably. And you said your uncle has a spot too, right?
[00:41:06] Masako Morishita:
Yeah, they have a little neighborhood spot as well. So.
[00:41:10] Josh Sharkey:
So, outpost someday in Japan, from Osaka?
[00:41:14] Masako Morishita: Yes.
[00:41:14] Josh Sharkey:
Are you gonna open a spot in Japan sometime?
[00:41:16] Masako Morishita:
We'll see. If I have a chance. But we'll see. I still have like a lot to do here. I still have, like, things I need to achieve in the States. So, maybe after, you know, I felt like I achieved something here, then maybe.
[00:41:32] Josh Sharkey:
Yeah, well, you've achieved a lot already. But what is, I mean, what is in the horizon for you, like, five years from now? What's, like, the next big thing? Yeah,
[00:41:39] Masako Morishita:
I, for the next five years, I really, like, hold, I still have this, like, happiness and joy towards cooking. And I also wanted to introduce like, you know, my, my Japanese home cooking to wider audience.
[00:41:54]
So I'm hoping I can write the recipe book that people can easily cook at home, the Japanese comfort food in American household. Yeah. So that's actually one of my goal as well. And of course to break the glass ceiling for all the women chefs, especially the immigrant women chefs.
[00:42:11] Josh Sharkey:
I love that. Well, I can't wait for that. Well, wrapping up, is there anything I didn't ask you that you think would be helpful or would be fun to share or anything you want to, you want to share with the audience?
[00:42:21] Masako Morishita:
Yeah, I think in just like next few months, I can't really say much details, but I have a fun, like collaboration dinners and event coming up, actually in New York too, and like everywhere in D.C. as well.
[00:42:36]
So yeah, please just like, you know, I post a lot of information on my Instagram. So please keep an eye out and yeah, if there's anybody who wanted to start this career, but don't have a courage just Please send me email or DM so we can talk and like, you know, I can like totally help you out.
[00:42:56] Josh Sharkey:
All right. We'll put your Instagram handle in the show notes. I will spare you by not putting your email just in case. But they can reach out and find you and the restaurant. This was great. Thank you so much. Yeah.
[00:43:08] Masako Morishita:
Thank you so much. Yep.
[00:43:11] Josh Sharkey:
Thanks for tuning in to The meez podcast. The music from the show is a remix of the song Art Mirror by an old friend, hip hop artist.
[00:43:17]
Fresh daily for show notes and more visit getmeez.com/podcast. That's G E T M E E Z. com forward slash podcast. If you enjoyed the show, I'd love it if you can share it with fellow entrepreneurs and culinary pros and give us a five star rating wherever you listen to your podcasts, keep innovating, don't settle, make today a little bit better than yesterday.
[00:43:38]
And remember, it's impossible for us to learn what we think we already know. See you next time.