Henry Sidel, President
Instead of text for now.  Here are some pictures highlighting my love of Japan, career and Joto Sake LLC.  Some text when time allows! 

Summer of 1987 when I was a homestay student at ICU in Tokyo between freshman and sophomore years at Carleton College in Minnesota.  From Left: me, Mikio Nakano who is still a close friend and Mako Tomoda, my homestay brother.  He’s consulting with his dad, behind the menu, about what totally amazing food we should eat–tonight.  His family took great care of me and we are still in touch 22 years later.  We are about to get busy with some Teppan Yaki.  Um, Kobe beef please?!

 

Brooklyn Brewery, probably summer of 2000.  I was General Manager of the Brewery division and managed all of our events, among other things.  On left, givin’ a little Brooklyn attcha, while running a 2000+ person beer fest on North 11th Street in Williamsburg.   The highlight of my event management feats, before the Mayor outlawed these kinds of events, was the First Brooklyn Brewery Slow Food Pig Fest.  It was the first event for Slow Food USA and the first Pig Fest in New York City.  Daniel Boulud showed up to see how the pigs were cooked (whole hog, among many other barbeque delicacies).  Big shout out to Chef Boulud.  We fed and satisfied the thirst of more than 2000 people.  A great day!

 

 

Another great moment, this time as President of Joto Sake LLC, January, 2008.  This is me and Yamauchi-san, the wild and crazy maker of Watari Bune sake.  I am leading my first trade group through Japan and Yamauchi-san took us to the Sumo Basho (Tournament) in Tokyo on our first day.  It was my first time seeing Sumo live and I had been waiting, um, 20 years.  Hands full in this shot!

 

 

 

 

Tamiko Ishidate, Western Division Sales Director

Born and raised in Chiba-ken, Tamiko learned how to cook from her mother and grandmother.  It was an important task, given she was one of six children.  Tamiko took her passion for food to America with her when she went to the University of Hawaii for college.  From there, she went to the East Bay area of San Francisco, where she has lived since.  She is an avid cook and a devoted student of the art of pairing food and sake.  Please check out her food and pairing grid to help.  It is helpful and fun. 

Tamiko now manages Joto Sake’s business in California, Washington, Oregon and Hawaii.  You can email her at tamiko@jotosake.com.

 

Midori Nakazawa, Eastern Division Sales Manager, comes from Ibaraki and found her passion for sake early in life.  Knowing she wanted to be in the business at an early age, she headed off to the University of Las Vegas Restaurant and Hotel School, where she earned her BA degree in Wine Studies.  She then worked for Deluca, a leading Las Vegas distributor, and then for Tentaka Brewery (Hawk of the Heaven) as export manager.   Along the way, she also studied sake making at Japan’s leading program at the Tokyo University for Agriculture.  In 2008, she joined Joto Sake and now manages New York, New Jersey, Massachussetts, Illionois, Minnesota and Wisconsin.  Her email is midori@jotosake.com

Midori at a crab shabu shabu dinner at Kasumi Tsuru.

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