Selected from 50 candidates to be private personal chef to NBA player (prior to pandemic). In-house private chef to retired executive and family. Responsible for daily custom menu creation and preparing multi-course meals within specific dietary restrictions.

I consult on everything from small menu creation, to large scale restaurant operations, including new restaurant builds and rebrands. I do small and large scale catering, run special pop-up events, and host private dinners. I have also been a private chef to professional athletes, retired executives and high-profile celebrities and entrepreneurs. I was born in North Carolina, raised in Okinawa, Japan, and trained in French Cuisine. I graduated top of my class in Restaurant Management from The Culinary Institute of America in New York. I started my culinary career at the age of 20, as one of 10 worldwide individuals invited to train at Walt Disney World's culinary program. I've staged around Europe, Asia, and the US, including staging with Thomas Keller at French Laundry, working as a Saucier Nobu in Honolulu, and working as the Executive Sous Chef at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. I moved to Toronto, Canada almost 10 years ago to open Peter Oliver and Michael Bonacini's new venture, Luma at TIFF Bell Lightbox. I was part of the team that opened Bar Mozza (closed) and I became part owner and Executive Chef of ViaVai (closed). I went on to bring my love for Hawaiian Cuisine to Toronto, and opened as part owner and chef, the popular quick-service poke restaurant Calii Love. I am founder of The Chef Collective, which is a chef driven organization committed to supporting local and worldwide chefs by providing them with a platform to showcase their talents through Chef Battles.

Friday Burger Company is about my love of Burgers. I am trained in French cuisine, cooked all over the world, and love my soul food; but despite all this, my favourite meal remains the humble burger. I have dedicated the last 5 years on perfecting my burger, and have been sourcing, planning and preparing for this moment to serve you my favourite meal. Welcome to Friday Burger, I look forward to sharing my burger with you. Opening our Flagship Location at TABLE Fare + Social, 81 Bay Street, 4th Floor, Toronto, Ontario, M5J 1E6. Visit us at: https://www.fridayburgercompany.com/

Founded in 2013, The Chef Collective is a chef-driven event planning company, that is committed to supporting chefs by providing a platform to showcase their talents. We provide Chefs and Restauranteurs a platform to help promote, connect and support the culinary community. We have hosted many live chef battles across the country, sponsored by top brands including Kraft and Heinz. Our content has significant impact and reach, with hundreds of live attendees and promotional videos views of over 240k across all platforms.

Creator, part owner & head chef of southern soul food restaurant, Friday Roots (now closed due to the COVID19 pandemic). Responsible for managing restaurant operations (front and back of house), marketing strategies, and creating and preparing a rotating menu. Chef Joe’s Friday Burger was rated in the top 10 best burgers at Toronto bars, rated by popular website blogTo.

Responsible for new menu creation, managing kitchen operations and dinner service cooking.

Creator and part-owner of Hawaiian/California inspired poke quick service restaurant Calii Love. Responsible for brand creation, recipe & menu development, and all restaurant operations (training, ordering, budgeting). Restaurant returned initial investment within first 5 months and scaled quickly, with currently 4 locations across Toronto.

General manager & executive chef at Via Vai (now closed), a popular Bay Street restaurant, known for its wood-fired pizzas and seasonal fare. Responsible for managing restaurant operations (front and back of house), marketing strategies, and managing 15+ kitchen staff. Restaurant generated over ~$1.2million in revenue within first year of operations.

Part of the opening team for Peter Oliver and Michael Bonacini's new venture, Luma at TIFF Bell Lightbox.

Saucier for top Japanese-Peruvian restaurant Nobu. Executed all seafood, rice and sauce preparation.

Executive sous chef at 4-star Hilton Hawaiian; in charge of restaurant operations for four individual restaurants, including ordering, budgeting, ingredient sourcing, menu development, and managing multiple kitchen leaders

One of only 10 students from CIA program selected across the USA for exclusive international culinary program