About this episode

Jesse Ito discusses his journey to winning the James Beard Award and his innovative approach to Japanese cuisine.

It's tradition: if a Philly chef wins a James Beard Award, you already know they're coming on the pod to tell us everything. Fresh off his Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic win, Jesse Ito joins us to talk about the moment it all paid off after years of Beard nominations. He lets us in on how he's reshaping perceptions of Japanese cuisine at Royal Izakaya, and taking that reinvention a step further with Dancerobot. And we ask about the secret to scoring a seat at the hottest omakase in the city… Plus: other Philly chefs and restaurants at the Beard awards, everyone's Best Bite of the week, Eli's highlights from Spain, and we dish on the latest events and pop-ups in Philly, complete with hot dogs and donuts. 00:00 Eli's back from Spain! 05:00 Chef Jesse Ito of Royal Izakaya & Sushi and Dancerobot 06:04 The moment he won Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic 17:50 A new take on Japanese cuisine 23:30 Best Bites 35:23 The Bear: what we loved and what's BS 39:00 The Dish: Food Events, Chef Collabs, Philly Pop-ups And of course, we could not do this without our amazing partners who are as passionate about food and drink as we are: If your restaurant or company wants to be in the headlines for all the right…

People in this episode

Host: Eli Kulp

Guest: Jesse Ito

Topics covered

• James Beard Award
• Japanese cuisine
• Philly food scene
• chef interviews
• restaurant events

Keywords

• James Beard
• Jesse Ito
• Royal Izakaya
• Dancerobot
• Philly chefs
• omakase
• food events

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Royal Izakaya, Dancerobot, James Beard Award

Places: Philly, Spain

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• Ep. 169: Everything Eli Ate in Spain, and a Brass Monkey Pastry-Palooza · July 6, 2026 · 56 min
• Ep. 167: Viral Caviar Pizza and Gastro-Travel · June 22, 2026 · 54 min
• Ep. 166: Eat, Yeet, Repeat! and our Best Bites of the Week · June 15, 2026 · 48 min
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