Today we’d like to introduce you to Keizo Ishiba. They and their team shared their story with us below:
Keizo Ishiba was born in Osaka in 1958, the beginning of the postwar period of rapid economic growth in Japan. His very first job while in high school was working as a barista at a local coffee shop, where he learned the nuances of creating the perfect cup of coffee. He was immediately taken by the requisite craftsmanship and the pleasure of creating things with his hands that would bring joy to his customers. This passion started Keizo on his path to the Osaka Abeno Tsuji Culinary School, one of the most prestigious cooking schools in Japan.
Although Keizo has always had a deep respect for Japanese culinary art, his first passion in his early days was French cuisine. Only a handful of restaurants served authentic French food in Japan at that time, but the Abeno Tsuji Culinary School invited some of the most famous chefs from France to teach their techniques to their students. One of Keizo’s most impactful teachers at Abeno Tsuji was Joel Robuchon, and this experience has influenced his cooking style to this day. Keizo majored in French cooking at Abeno Tsuji but never lost sight of his Japanese roots — a skill set that he would ultimately blend into his personal culinary style.
After graduating, Keizo started his career as a French chef at a restaurant in Kyoto, and in 1988, he decided to come to the United States. Although he was focused on working as a French chef, the only jobs offered to him were sushi chef positions. Fortunately, Keizo had also studied with one of the great Tokyo sushi masters from Kyubey Ginza and was highly skilled as a sushi chef, as well. He quickly established himself at some of LA’s best sushi restaurants, including the original Sushi Roku, where he served as executive chef for seven years.
Keizo never lost his passion for French cooking, however, and when he opened K-ZO in 2006 with his wife, Yuki, they were determined to bring a French influence to the traditional Japanese culinary art. The result is a sublime fusion— at once able to present the traditional Japanese art and deliver elements of French cooking that harken back to Keizo’s early training.
Always remembering the joy he first experienced in preparing that perfect cup of coffee, Keizo prefers to make his meals in front of his customers, where he can deliver his unique and authentic creations in the most personal way possible.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Chef Keizo found his restaurant location in Culver City in 2004. We have to build the restaurant from the ground up. Any construction is not an easy process, and ours was no exception. It took us a whole two years to complete the entire process.
When we finally opened K-ZO, we developed regular customers very quickly. Chef Keizo already had his foodies followers who spread the word around town. On top of that, he had a great review from one of the most famous food critics at the time in the LA Times three months after the opening of K-ZO (Trivia: The newspaper with his full-page article issued on his birthday! It was the best birthday gift ever)
This brought an overwhelming amount of customers to our restaurant.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
Advice for Owner/Chef to be. Craftmanship and Business are two different tasks. Each goal is not the same one. I believe it is two man’s job. A good business partner (If you can find one within your family, you are the lucky one) will make the chef’s job much more manageable.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.k-zo.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kzorestaurant/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kzo.culvercity
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/reservations/k-zo-culver-city
- Other: https://k-zo.getbento.com/online-ordering/k-zo/menu
Image Credits
Y. Ishiba
