The chance to come to the United States arrived when chef Ikeda was 27. His sister, who lived in America, knew someone who was looking for an assistant chef at Seto restaurant. Back then, an airline ticket cost about 300,000 yen to fly from Tokyo to America’s west coast. That is more than 1,000,000 yen in today’s terms. Traveling to the States was pretty much beyond the dreams of most Japanese people in those days. Chef Ikeda, however, had some savings after many years of working at the tonkatsu restaurant. So, without much hesitation, he decided to move to America. Chef Ikeda started working at Seto restaurant, but life in Los Angeles was boring to him compared with his life in Tokyo. He also suffered from the severe language barrier. Within a matter of six months, chef Ikeda got tired of being in Los Angeles. Still he hung on, trying his cooking skills at various restaurants and continuing to hone his culinary techniques. Time passed and now, chef Ikeda has spent more than half of his life in America.

It was not until he came to the States that chef Ikeda first underwent sushi training. Although he previously had long years of cooking experience, I imagine it was tough to learn a new set of skills. But chef Ikeda recalls “I was confident that I could master the necessary skills of a sushi chef quicker than most people.” It may seem as though chef Ikeda acquired the new skills rather swiftly. But it required persistent effort and calling upon his previous experience certainly helped his confidence. In the beginning of his training as a sushi chef, chef Ikeda used to practice making rice balls for sushi by using a small piece of cloth each day after he got home. When chef Ikeda thought that he had perfected his sushi, he found out that there was still so much to learn when he switched to a new restaurant and witnessed the new techniques of other sushi chefs. It has been four decades since chef Ikeda embarked on his culinary journey. Yet he is still on a quest in search of the ultimate sushi.

Chef Ikeda reports to work at Oomasa at 7:00 am in order to do the necessary preparation each day, and often leaves the premises around 3:00 pm. He actually works at a different sushi restaurant, “Ki Ra La” in Beverly Hills in the afternoon on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Ki Ra La holds chef Ikeda in high esteem, and has actually offered him a full time position as a chef.