Chef Kei Yoshino & Scarr Pimentel on Cooking and Collaboration
Romance is out! Friendship is in! This Valentine's Day, Highsnobiety is celebrating the beauty of love outside the traditional confines of romantic relationships. After all, friendship and creative collaboration take just as much work, time, and effort. Meet 5 couples who aren't couples here and read about the state of love today.
It was news when, last summer, the acclaimed New York slice counter called Scarr’s Pizza, on 22 Orchard Street, moved to a bigger space (but still on Orchard), and instead of closing its original location, owners Scarr Pimentel and Ryan Chadwick transformed it into an omakase sushi counter run by chef and business partner Kei Yoshino. Called Sushi Oku, the restaurant features a 17-course menu. And though on the surface it bears only a little resemblance to the Scarr’s that came before it (still retro, still closet-sized), the space retains plenty of the magic that first drew fans, plus a little more: a friendship that underpins the endeavor between Yoshino, Chadwick, and Pimentel.
After a successful season, the eight-seat restaurant (that does only three seatings a night) has put a new notch on the belt of this friendship.
Here, chef Yoshino and Pimentel talk us through the tenets of this trio’s creative collaboration, their guilty pleasures, and why deciding to work together was the easiest decision they had to make.
Highsnobiety: How did you two meet?
Kei Yoshino: We met through our other partner Ryan Chadwick. I had been working with Ryan for a few years on other projects (Taikun Sushi) and Ryan and Scarr were friends via the Lower East Side. Scarr came and tried my sushi and we became friends from there.
Scarr Pimentel: I got back from Tokyo and our business partner Ryan Chadwick invited me to Chef’s popup. I was blown away by his food. We became cool after that.
How would you each describe each other’s personal styles?
Yoshino: Scarr always looks great — he lets his creativity show through his style, often wearing local NYC designers (and very cool watches). I respect that a lot about him. I’m very simple — I like Japanese designers, but I don’t focus much on it. I’m usually in a chef coat.
Pimentel: Chef is all Japanese salaryman-esque with his own personal take.
What about your personal tastes, as in food preferences?
Yoshino: I eat very simple and clean, almost exclusively Japanese cuisine. But if we’re talking favorite foods, a nice ribeye steak (medium rare) is on the top of the list. And you might catch me sneaking off to Burger King once or twice a year. It’s a guilty pleasure.
Pimentel: Omakase all day. And any Asian cuisine.
How did you know you wanted to work together?
Yoshino: I was in the midst of several years of consulting, and during that time, I hit a creative stride and knew I was ready to settle down somewhere more permanent. Scarr was relocating his pizza shop across the street, fresh off a trip from Japan with sushi still on his mind. We connected through Ryan, and I instantly fell in love with the space — it reminded me of a small bar in the alleyways of Shibuya in Japan. Deciding to work together? That was the easy part.
Pimentel: He’s an exceptional chef and didn’t have his own place. I had the opportunity to help him out, so I did.
How are you similar?
Yoshino: We’re both pretty easygoing, we like to keep things relaxed. But when it comes to work, we really buckle down. There’s a serious side to us that many don’t see, especially in our dedication and passion for what we do. And speaking of passion: Scarr’s Pizza is the best slice in town. That doesn’t come easy.
Pimentel: We’re both passionate about what we do. We’re quiet and mind our own business. And we both genuinely love food.
What does friendship mean to you?
Yoshino: Respect and trust are the keys to friendship for me; without those, the other aspects of a friendship are not possible.
Pimentel: Trust, respect, and having a good time.
How would you describe creative collaboration?
Yoshino: People working together toward a common goal or new idea. Synergy, communication, and openness are important for a collaboration to be a success.
Pimentel: It’s a team effort. Not everyone is right, not everyone is wrong. You have to go with your gut and trust each other. And no egos.
What do you appreciate about each other
Yoshino: I appreciate the trust we have in each other — we trust the process we follow. Scarr tossed me the keys to 22 Orchard and told me to create something I was proud of. He was there for support, but gave me full creative control of the concept and menu. Scarr has his finger on the pulse with design and music, so I left those aspects up to him. It’s the mutual respect and freedom in our roles that I really appreciate.
Pimentel: That Chef doesn’t have an ego, and he’s an extremely nice guy.
Creatively, what are your differences and how do you navigate them?
Yoshino: Luckily, we haven’t run into any issues yet.
Pimentel: We really don’t have any differences. It’s seamless for us.
What’s a crazy night out you shared together?
Yoshino: We both have families and keep things low key. But occasionally we’ll break out a great bottle of sake, have a good meal, and, somehow, Japanese whiskey always sneaks its way into the mix.
What’s something you don’t talk about together?
Pimentel: We talk mostly business.
How do you navigate conflict or differences of opinion?
Pimentel: Fortunately, we haven’t crossed that bridge yet.
Who in fashion do you look up to? What about creative duos?
Yoshino: Creative duos: Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. The Splash Brothers. I love watching them play. For fashion, I like our neighbors Awake NY — Angelo [Baque] and Hugo [Mendoza] — they do great work and are great people.
What does friendship mean to you? What distinguishes friendship from other relationships in your life?
Yoshino: The majority of my friends also share my passions. I am friends with many sushi chefs, sake makers, and other industry folks. It’s the common ground that makes our friendships not just meaningful but also a lot of fun.
