Our guest is Victor Rivera who is the Head Chef at The Bazaar by Jose Andres in New York City. Before Victor became the Head Chef at The Bazaar, he cooked Japanese food in notable restaurants, including Masa in New York City, which has 3 Michelin stars. Also, he has a very strong culinary background in French with his experiences at top restaurants such as Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s Edition and Le Bernardin. 

At the Bazaar in New York City, Victor uniquely incorporates traditional Spanish cuisine and Japanese cuisine in the style of Spanish tapas. He marries the seemingly opposite food cultures seamlessly and creates synergies. 

In this episode, we will discuss how Victor got into cooking and in particular Japanese cuisine, what is special about Japanese food for him, the unique concept of marrying Spanish and Japanese cuisine, how Victor executes it so well, and much, much more!!! 

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THE NOTO PENINSULA EARTHQUAKE DISASTER RELIEF 

As you may know, a major earthquake struck Japan's Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture on January 1st. The death toll keeps climbing and the damage to the beautiful region is tremendous. Importantly, 10 of the 11 sake breweries in the Noto Peninsula were completely or partially destroyed. 

So if you can, please donate through reliable organizations including: 

The Japanese Red Cross https://www.jrc.or.jp/english/relief/2024NotoPeninsulaEarthquake.html 

Peace Winds America: A fundraiser by US-Japan Foundation/US-Japan Leadership Program https://www.globalgiving.org/fundraisers/49472/ 　 

The Ishikawa Sake Brewers Association 

https://www.ishikawa-sake.jp/index.php　

(the donation account details) https://www.ishikawa-sake.jp/images/97-1.pdf)

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