Japan Eats

John’s interest in cooking began with his curiosity in his grandmother’s expansive garden, learning early about the importance of seasonality, flavor and balance. At age 14, John moved to South Korea for three years where he not only became fluent in Korean, but truly embraced Asian flavors, language and spirits. After nearly two decades running a successful law practice and firm in Manhattan, John decided to pursue his real passion-a new culinary career at the French Culinary Institute (FCI) in New York where he graduated first in his class. It was at FCI that John met Dave Arnold, a well-respected renegade of modernist cuisine. Dave encouraged John to stage at Chef Wylie Dufresne’s wd-50. After staging for several years, he and was offered the new position as part of Research and Development at wd-50 before leaving in October, 2011 to truly take his skills and craft to a new frontier. In 2010, John and Dianna (his wife) purchased a home in Columbia County, New York, in the heart of the Hudson Valley and bou