It is both surprising and unsurprising how many people think our products are just meant for Japanese food. Why is it surprising? Many people are not familiar with working with Japanese food products, so the natural thought process is that...
Our first day in Japan is always a whirlwind…we take a redeye that leaves SFO at about 1am and gets into Tokyo’s Haneda airport at just before 5am. After a quick shower at the airport ($10 for 30 minutes!), udon...
It’s not easy to get to Iio Jozo, but it’s definitely worth the trip. And now that I think about it, that’s a metaphor for how the company operates. They don’t take the easy way out…everything they do is hard...
When Chris and I were first started visiting Japan together as The Japanese Pantry our minds were full of questions for the producers. As time went on we realized some were not relevant and others were, but also that there...
On the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto -- April 11, 2016Greg Dunmore and Chris BonomoCo-Founders of The Japanese PantryMost likely, The Japanese Pantry would not exist without Takehiro Wada. He and I met at Nojo about 3 years ago while...
While Takehiro was driving us south from Hyogo to Wakayama, we passed through valleys and into tunnels on a brilliantly sunny day. Once we pulled into Kainan City, Wakayama, we arrived at Yamamoto Katsunosuke, a small sansho factory that is...
Our schedule was a visit to a mirin factory and tamari brewery arranged by Takehiro. We expected it to be awesome, and not only did it not disappoint, but instead was above and beyond what we expected. We started at...
When I first started cooking—some 20 plus years ago now—I fell in love with the world of ingredients that are available to professional chefs. I’ve tried fresh-pressed Umbrian olive oil, and watched pastas being extruded through bronze presses in...
