From NFL Cheerleader to Pop-Up Chef - Masako Morishita Brings Japanese Comfort Food to Washington D.C. with Her Pop-Up Restaurant Otabe

On this week’s show, I speak with Masako Morishita. Originally from Kobe, Japan, Masako’s family has owned and operated a bar and restaurant there for 90 years, and food has always been a part of her life, though she never worked as a cook. Growing up, she was interested in dancing and cheerleading, and in 2013 she moved to Washington D.C. to be a NFL cheerleader for the Washington Football Team (formerly, the Redskins), and was even a captain in her fifth year.She has always enjoyed cooking at home, and would regularly cook for her friends. Not able to find the food she grew up eating, in 2019 she decided to start Otabe, a pop-up in Washington D.C. that focuses on Japanese comfort food, which she hopes to turn into a more permanent endeavor. We talk about moving to, and touring the world with the NFL, the future of Otabe, a few of her favorite cookbooks, and of course, Japanese cooking including okonomiyaki, dashi and cooking with donabe. ==========Masako Morishita  ==========The Otabe Instagram https://www.instagram.com/otabe_dc/The Otabe Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/otabeDCToiro Kitchen and Donabe https://toirokitchen.com/ Donabe Cookbook https://amzn.to/30MB3y2The Gaijin Cookbook https://amzn.to/3rOt9jz================CONNECT WITH US================SUPPORT US ON PATREONGet the Chefs Without Restaurants NewsletterVisit Our Amazon Store (we get paid when you buy stuff)Connect on ClubhouseCheck out our websites (they have different stuff) https://chefswithoutrestaurants.org/ & https://chefswithoutrestaurants.com/Like our Facebook pageJoin the private Facebook groupJoin the conversation on TwitterCheck our Instagram picsFounder Chris Spear’s personal chef business Perfect Little Bites https://perfectlittlebites.com/Watch on YouTubeIf you want to support the show, our Venmo name is ChefWoRestos and can be found at https://venmo.com/ChefWoRestos. If you enjoy the show, have every received a job through one of our referrals, have been a guest, , or simply want to help, it would be much appreciated. Feel free to let us know if you have any questions. Get in touchSupport the show