Guest Chef John Sugimura Serves Up Traditional Cuisine

September 19, 2019

Guest chef John Sugimura owns PinKU Japanese Street Food, has been on The Food Network's "Guy's Grocery Games, and has been recognized by Bon Appetit Magazine, Minnesota Business Magazine, LUX Magazine, Travel and Leisure, Minnesota Monthly, and more.

On Sept. 18, he visited CDH as part of Taher's "Food 4 Life" program.

Sugimura describes his cooking as, "good, classic, traditional food that would make my grandmother proud," he said.

His grandmother looms large in his personal story. She immigrated to Sacramento from Japan in 1917 and was a single parent of five children by 1924. To support herself and her children, she opened a restaurant, which was a success for nearly 20 years. In the early 1940s, they were forced to close the restaurant and live in an internment camp for over four years. They never re-opened the restaurant, and barely spoke about the experience for decades.

Today, Sugimura takes pride in cooking the kind of food his grandmother would have cooked. He attended culinary school in Japan, where he learned to make authentic Japanese cuisine.

He never adds sauce, preferring to let the flavors of the food take center stage. He never cooks fusion dishes, and focuses on exposing people to traditional foods.

"I was called 'Jap' one time. Just once. I still remember who the other kid was, where I was. You only have to be marginalized one time, and that sting sticks with you," he recalled. "Now, when people walk into my restaurant, they embrace me and they embrace my culture."

As a Taher "Food 4 Life" chef, he travels the country cooking for military bases, government buildings, schools, and more. He made karaage don, a Japanese fried chicken dish, for CDH students. The chicken is fried in potato starch, and plated with rice, homemade pickles, and seaweed. The final product was simple and delicious.

Sugimura is proud to be exposing the next generation to traditional Japanese food. "These recipes are so tested and true for so many years, how can you not like it?"

The Raider Cafe welcomes a guest chef approximately once every two months. Keep an eye out for another great culinary experience later this year!