(born February 8, 1950, in

Kagoshima , abbreviated to , is the capital city of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. Located at the southwestern tip of the island of Kyushu, Kagoshima is the largest city in the prefecture by some margin. It has been nicknamed the "Naples of the Eastern wor ...

, Japan) is a Japanese-Canadian

chef A chef is a trained professional cook and tradesman who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term ''chef de cuisine'' (), the director or head of a kitche ...

based in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

Career

Tojo first learned to cook at home, due in part to the fact his mother was vegetarian and Tojo and his siblings wanted meat. In 1968, Tojo moved to

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

to become a chef where he apprenticed at Ohnoya, a

ryōtei A is a type of traditional Japanese restaurant. Traditionally, only accept new customers by referral and feature entertainment by geisha, but in modern times this is not always the case. are typically a place where high-level business or po ...

restaurant. In 1971, he became a chef at an Osaka

sushi is a Japanese cuisine, Japanese dish of prepared , usually with some sugar and salt, accompanied by a variety of , such as seafood, often raw, and vegetables. Styles of sushi and its presentation vary widely, but the one key ingredient is " ...

restaurant. Shortly afterwards, in August 1971, Tojo moved to Vancouver, a city with only four Japanese restaurants at the time. Tojo first found work at Maneki, at the invitation of its owner, who was Tojo's sponsor to Canada. Tojo was then a chef at various restaurants until opening his eponymous restaurant, Tojo's, in October 1988. After 18 years at the same location, in 2007 Tojo moved his restaurant to a new custom-designed setting a few blocks east of its original location. Tojo normally works at the restaurant six days a week, but for an annual trip to Japan, in part to stay current with food trends in his home country. Tojo is often credited with inventing the

California roll ) or California maki is an ''uramaki'' (inside out ''makizushi'' roll) containing cucumber, crab or imitation crab, and avocado. Sometimes crab salad is substituted for the crab stick, and often the outer layer of rice in an inside-out roll (''u ...

and the

B.C. roll The B.C. (British Columbia) roll is a Maki-zushi (roll), a kind of sushi containing barbecued salmon and cucumber. It is prepared as an uramaki roll, a style of sushi in which the rice is on the outside. Often the roll contains barbecued salmon sk ...

. According to Tojo, when he started in Vancouver, Canadian tastes were not used to traditional sushi, with its raw fish and seaweed wrapper. As a result, Tojo chose to use non-traditional ingredients and to roll the sushi inside-out. Originally called "Tojo-maki", Tojo later changed the name to California roll because of its popularity with visitors from Los Angeles. Tojo's is also known for its

omakase is a Japanese phrase, used when ordering food in restaurants, that means 'I'll leave it up to you' (from Japanese ). Usage The phrase ''omakase'', literally 'I leave it up to you', is most commonly used when dining at Japanese restaurants ...

, a Japanese term meaning "I'll leave it to you", in which patrons leave the selection of the menu to the chef. In addition to many newspaper and magazine reviews, Tojo has appeared on numerous television programs, including ''

Martha Stewart Living ''Martha Stewart Living'' is a magazine and former television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of ...

'', '' Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations'', ''

Anna & Kristina's Grocery Bag ''Anna & Kristina's Grocery Bag'' was a Canadian television series that aired on the W Network and OWN Network in Canada, as well as 13 other countries around the world. Similar to the series '' The Shopping Bags'', produced and hosted by Anna Wa ...

'', ''

Bizarre Foods America ''Bizarre Foods America'' is an American television series, and a spin-off of'' Bizarre Foods'', this time focusing on the United States rather than international travel. Andrew Zimmern travels to various cities throughout the country (as well as ...

'', ''Glutton for Punishment'', ''

1,000 Places to See Before You Die ''1,000 Places to See Before You Die'' is a 2003 travel book by Patricia Schultz, published by Workman. A revised edition was published in November 2011. The new edition is in color. An iPad app debuted in December 2011. Among the "1,000 places ...

'', ''

Simply Ming ''Simply Ming'' is a television cooking show hosted by chef Ming Tsai that is produced by WGBH Boston and Ming East-West, LLC. The show is distributed by American Public Television. Overview The initial premise of the show consisted of Ming prese ...

'', and ''

The Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'' or informally, ''NBC News Today'') is an American news and talk morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was ...

''. In 2016, the Japanese

Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries may refer to: * Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Cambodia) * Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Japan) * Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Niue) * Depar ...

appointed Tojo as a goodwill ambassador of Japanese cuisine, one of only 13 chefs to share this honour outside Japan.

Awards and honours

* ''Vancouver Magazine'' - Best Japanese Award (each year since 1988) * ''Vancouver Magazine'' - Lifetime Achievement Award 2009 * British Columbia Restaurants Hall of Fame – 2006 * Zagat - Extraordinary Award 2007 and 2008 * DiRoNA - Achievement of Distinction in Dining 2012 * ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'' - One of the Top 10 Sushi Chefs in the World

References

External links

Tojo's Restaurant

Hidekazu Tojo
at the Chef and Restaurant Database

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tojo, Hidekazu 1950 births Living people Businesspeople from Vancouver Canadian restaurateurs Japanese emigrants to Canada People from Kagoshima Prefecture Chefs from Vancouver

Career

Awards and honours

See also

References

External links