Ep. 168: James Beard Winner Jesse Ito: The 9-Year Journey to His First Award

It's tradition: if a Philly chef wins a James Beard Award, you already know they're coming on the pod to tell us everything. Fresh off his Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic win, Jesse Ito joins us to talk about the moment it all paid off after years of Beard nominations. He lets us in on how he's reshaping perceptions of Japanese cuisine at Royal Izakaya, and taking that reinvention a step further with Dancerobot. And we ask about the secret to scoring a seat at the hottest omakase in the city… Plus: other Philly chefs and restaurants at the Beard awards, everyone's Best Bite of the week, Eli's highlights from Spain, and we dish on the latest events and pop-ups in Philly, complete with hot dogs and donuts.  00:00 Eli's back from Spain! 05:00 Chef Jesse Ito of Royal Izakaya & Sushi and Dancerobot 06:04 The moment he won Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic 17:50 A new take on Japanese cuisine 23:30 Best Bites 35:23 The Bear: what we loved and what's BS  39:00 The Dish: Food Events, Chef Collabs, Philly Pop-ups And of course, we could not do this without our amazing partners who are as passionate about food and drink as we are: If your restaurant or company wants to be in the headlines for all the right reasons, click here to discover how Peter Breslow Consulting and PR can take your business to the next level Social media and digital content are two of the most important things you can create for your brand. Check out Breakdown Media, a one stop shop for all of your marketing needs. Listen to us on Spotify Listen to us on Apple Watch us on YouTube Connect with us on Instagram, and share your eating adventures by tagging us in your posts so we can talk about them on air.