Show Notes
Our guests are Rahul Saito and Mitsu Nagae. Rahul is the owner and Mitsu is the co-owner and executive chef at l’abeille https://www.labeille.nyc and l’abeille à côté https://www.labeilleacote.nyc/ in Tribeca, New York.
The duo opened l’abeille in March 2022 and shortly after, they won a Michelin star, thanks to Mitsu’s unique and outstanding culinary background as a Japanese chef classically trained in Paris, Tokyo and New York as well as Rahul’s sound management despite being new to the industry.
Mitsu’s menus are characterized by a seamless merge of French and Japanese cuisines, which seems to have become a relevant genre in places like Paris and Japan as well.
In this episode, we will discuss how Mitsu got into French cuisine from a young age in Japan and eventually trained under top chefs like the late Joel Robuchon, why the seemingly opposite French and Japanese cuisines can go so well together as you can see in Mitsu’s menus, the keys to run successful restaurants in New York and much, much more!!! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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Our guest is Silvia Mella who is the owner of Sorate in New York. Sorate is a unique Japanese green tea company, which sells premium Japanese tea through online and operates beautiful tea houses in Manhattan. Japanese tea has been gaining attention in the global markets, fueled by rising health consciousness and growing interest in Japanese food. According to the Japanese government, Japanese tea exports in 2025 reached record highs, and the key driving factor was Matcha. The U.S. accounts for approximately 40% of total export volume, 80% of which was Matcha. And it is mostly used for iced or hot lattes and smoothies. But in Japan, people don’t drink Matcha on a daily basis. There are many other types of delicately produced, highly flavorful Japanese tea. Silvia knows the profoundness of Japanese tea culture very well, and is passionate about introducing its charm to a global audience. In this episode, we will discuss how Silvia got into Japanese tea, how she convinced a traditional tea farm to work with her, the types of tea she recommends you try, the tea ceremony sessions that she offers with a Japanese tea master, and much, much more!!! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.