After graduating from university, Mr. Matsumoto worked for one of the major stock brokerage firms in Japan. Then, suddenly, he took an abrupt turn and stepped into the “food” business. He was president of the California Sushi Academy, and Chief of the Corporate Planning Department at Kyodo Boeki before assuming his current position with Kabuki Restaurant as Corporate Sake Sommelier. When the 2nd World Sake Sommelier Competition was held in Tokyo last October, he was selected as one of three representatives from the United States to participate in the event. (594 certified competitors participated.) He strongly advocates the importance of pairing a certain type of sake with a particular food dish. He is an active sake promoter who writes sake related articles for various publications and gives lectures on sake all over the US.

Master Sake Sommelier at Kabuki Restaurant