There’s something admirable about a chef who, through his young 36 years, has rubbed elbows nightly with some of the world’s finest chefs in the most intense kitchens, and yet he still beams with calmest, coolest demeanor. Has Chef Kazuyuki Mitsui ever broken a sweat from stressful dinner service? Can’t say we’d believe it if he did.
In our latest installment of the Meet-and-Eat chef series, we get up-close and personal with the peaceful executive chef, the culinary rockstar heading the food program at Azie Restaurant on State Street and also, at Villanova’s Azie on Main.
HIS BACKSTORY: Hailing from Japan, the chef flipped his lifelong love affair with food and cooking into a fine-tuned, professional craft. Working through intense culinary training and mentorships from top Japanese chefs, including with Iron Chef Michiba Rokusaburo at his acclaimed restaurant Miyanaga, the talented chef’s culinary map didn’t dead end in his home turf. He perfected his skill sets in the United States, hustling through Philadelphia’s notorious Morimoto kitchen and spending an extensive stint in Palm Beach, which to him, was reminiscent of his time cooking in Tokyo kitchens.
“I love to learn new techniques,” shares Kaz. “I love all my mentors and respect the great experiences I had with them.”
MEDIA MARVEL: Just six years ago, the Win Signature Restaurants Group recruited the talented thirtysomething to open Azie Restaurant in Media as a “globally refreshing” dining experience. Focusing on Asian cuisine infused with modernized French and Italian influences, the chef established a menu that celebrates high-quality, well-prepared ingredients kept simple. Come late summer 2009, Kaz assisted Win’s power couple in opening the second Azie-themed establishment, Azie on Main along East Lancaster Avenue.
COLLABORATION NATION: Finding strength in numbers, Chef Kaz believes each member of the Azie culinary team is an important asset. “I love working with this company, we’re like a family,” shares Mitsui. “Each chef has a lot of pride and loves making the food—that’s what makes the restaurant and defines the Azie experience itself.”
“We have a nice harmony,” he continues, in regards to he and his chef colleagues. “We’re not a single instrument like a piano or a violin. Together, we make up the Azie experience and it’s not only about the food and drink—but the staff and service too.”
RESTORATIVE FIX: The key to breathing easy on his busy days and nights is miso soup, reveals the chef. “Every day I drink miso soup and it helps me relax.” Partial to miso itself, chef Kaz creates miso dishes that go beyond the standard steamy bowl.
“The way we prepare our Chilean sea bass with a miso marinade is popular,” he says. “We also have miso dumplings made with shiitake mushrooms and truffle oil.”
COOKING SCHOOL: Japanese food is, at its heart, dead simple. However, one look at any of Kaz’s eye-catching dishes and he’s able to make anything simplistic appear terrifically complex—that’s talent! Lucky for locals, if you’re itching to uncover the Media chef’s craft, he’s demystifying his “simple” style of cooking in an upcoming late March course at COOK (click HERE for more details).
SECRET TO SUCCESS: “Freshness is very important,” he concludes. Mitsui sticks to the art of letting the natural flavors of the food shine. If you’re working with high-quality ingredients, he encourages you to not mask them with heavy sauces.
Catch Chef Kazuyuki Mitsui at Azie Restaurant at 217 W. State St. in Media. For more information, visit Azie online.
Photographs credited to Nina Lea Photography.
One Comment