Stories of Devotion: Kenji Maenaka, Izakaya Fujiyama

Kenji Maenaka, head chef at Izakaya Fujiyama, learned to cook when he was five. He grew up in his father’s sushi bar in Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost island, which is famous for Japanese barbeque. His father kept his barbeque-sauce recipe secret; he wouldn’t even tell his son. Maenaka devoted himself – and much time and effort – to recreating the sauce from memory to use in his restaurant. He thinks the barbeque sauce he uses on the Wagyu sagari might even be better than his father’s original.

Watch the video above to hear Maenaka tell his story while visiting the Sydney Markets and making his barbecue Wagyu sagari dish from Izakaya Fujiyama.