We thought it would be cool to start stripping out some of the quotes from the interviews we film for our Restaurant Owners Uncorked video series. Here’s Daisuke Utagawa of Daikaya in Washington, D.C. answering two questions….

What are you most proud of about Daikaya?

“I am most proud of our partnership. I don’t think this is something that one person can do because of how many talents and life experiences and varying types of expertise we all have. Daikaya is not a vision of one person, it’s a collaboration, and I’m quite proud of that. I’m very happy to have had the partners conceptualize this together, and I think that’s our strength.”

That’s cool to hear. Partnerships can often be challenging…

“All partnerships are challenging. You form partnerships because everybody has different backgrounds and expertise and you try to put it together. It doesn’t always fit from day one, but what makes it work is that we all have the same goal. So towards that goal we are always encouraging each other, correcting each other, and just running towards the common goal, which is to bring a slice of Japan in a way that the audience here will appreciate, understand, and embrace.”

In the next few days we’ll start posting the videos we filmed of Daisuke and his two partners.

Wil