Meet The Chef

At Bento we employ hundreds of sushi chefs. But only one of them is Chef Daniel-san. He’s our executive chef. The master, if you will. He creates every great-tasting, visually inspiring menu item we feature, and guides our entire staff on how to prepare them.

After years of experience working in kitchens that specialized in French and Mediterranean cuisine, Chef Daniel-san found himself living on Vancouver Island. And the Nainamo kitchen where he worked also featured a sushi bar. His interest peaked. So did his taste buds. And after almost half a year of harassing the owner to allow him to train with the sushi chefs he was finally given the opportunity to apprentice.

What makes a great sushi chef?

A dedication to the freshest ingredients, pride in the craftsmanship of the sushi and of course, awesome knife skills.

What’s the difference between a sushi chef and a regular chef?

Patience. While most chefs are trained to work quickly in busy restaurants, sushi takes the opposite approach with chefs learning the importance of discipline and working with a calm demeanor.

Where do you draw your inspiration from when developing new sushi?

I use my friends and family to draw inspiration for different food combinations that work well with the flavours of sushi. Basically, I love to develop sushi rolls tailored to foods that people love to eat.

There you have it. You’ve heard it from the source, folks. Great sushi takes knife skills. And a whole bunch of other good things, too. Now you not only know what it takes to make a great sushi chef, you’ve also just met one.

Oct 14, 2011