About Okamoto Kitchen
Okamoto Kitchen is the brainchild of Chizuru and Gerald Abraham, whose mission is to introduce people to authentic, lesser known Japanese dishes such as Chicken Nanban, Cheese Mochi and Classic Style Japanese Curry. The vibrant Akiba-style decor and engaging customer service make Okamoto Kitchen an experience you will be talking about with your friends.
About Chef Chizuru Okamoto Abraham
Chef Chizuru Abraham is an issei (first generation Japanese) who has been cooking Japanese cuisine since childhood. Passionate about perfecting her craft, she graduated from Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Los Angeles, and has studied under world-famous celebrity chef Nobu Matsuhisa.
About Gerald Abraham (L.A. Akira)
Gerald Abraham’s immersion into Japanese culture started with anime and import video games (playing them in Japanese) as a kid. From there, he moved to Japan, became fluent in the language, and developed a true appreciation for the local cuisine as an avid foodie. Now he and Chizuru are bringing those classic Japanese dishes to Los Angeles.
About Shidosha
Haru Umesaki is Okamoto Kitchen’s IRL official mascot and original character. She’s a genuinely polite girl who’s full of energy and tries to keep in high spirits to get through tough times. As a result, she’s very good at encouraging others in distress. Despite her optimism, she tends to get panicked and flustered easily. Haru is a HUGE video game nerd and it’s usually what she’s doing when she’s not working. Haru is still very much trying to find her place in the world. Other than doing her best in all she does and wanting to get back home to Japan, she doesn’t have any big dreams of her own just yet. Because of this, she deeply admires the passion her brother, Yukio, has for fighting games, her mom has in hospitality, and Chizuru has for the food truck. She hopes these inspirations will help her find her calling some day. Her life seemingly got butchered because of something called “Beast Mode”, and if she’s lucky, it won’t cause too much more trouble during her stay in Los Angeles.
