OWN AMERICAN DREAM. BORN IN JAPAN, SHE IS NOW AN AWARD WINNING CHEF IN WASHINGTON, DC. SHE CALLS HER STYLE JAPANESE COMFORT FOOD WITH A TWIST. IT’S NOT THE USUAL RAMEN OR SUSHI, BUT JAPANESE CURRIES, BURGERS AND PANCAKES. LIKE WHAT SHE ATE AS A KID. MORISHITA CAREER PATH IS ANYTHING BUT ORDINARY. COOKING WASN’T PART OF HER PLAN. SHE SHARES HER STORY IN HER OWN WORDS AND THE WINNER IS MASAKO MORISHITA. THIS IS MY WILDEST AMERICAN DREAM CAME TRUE. MY NAME IS MASAKO MORISHITA. I’M THE EXECUTIVE CHEF OF PERRY’S RESTAURANT IN WASHINGTON, DC. MY FAMILY HAS A LITTLE BAR AND RESTAURANT IN KOBE, JAPAN FOR CLOSE TO 100 YEARS. I DIDN’T HAVE ANY FORMAL TRAINING. ALL THE TRAINING I HAD WAS BY MY MOM. SO INCREDIBLE. I MEAN, SHE’S COME A LONG WAY SINCE BEING A CHEERLEADING COACH. I STARTED DANCING WHEN I WAS 16 YEARS OLD. THE NFL CHEERLEADER DOES TRIPS ALL OVER THE WORLD TO VISIT TROOPS OVERSEAS. THEY CAME TO OUR AREA AND SINCE THEN I HAD THIS LIKE IN MY HEART, SOMEDAY I WANT TO BE LIKE THEM. ONE DAY I JUST DECIDED TO COME TO DC AND TRY IT OUT FOR THE COMMANDERS. I STILL DON’T KNOW WHY, BUT I MADE A TEAM. FOR SOME REASON. I WAS THE FIRST OVERSEA PERSON TO BECOME A CAPTAIN OF THE TEAM. TOWARDS THE END OF THE CAREER, I HAD A REALLY BAD INJURY AND I KNEW IN MY HEART I CAN’T DO THIS FOREVER. BUT I ALWAYS WANTED TO INTRODUCE SOME SIDE OF MY CULTURE THAT PEOPLE REALLY DON’T KNOW ABOUT, AND THAT WAS ACTUALLY COOKING. AND THEN AFTER I RETIRED DANCING, I STARTED DOING MY OWN POP UP. I STARTED WORKING FOR PERRY’S 2022. PERRY’S HAS BEEN HERE FOR 40 YEARS. IT’S A HUGE INSTITUTION. I WAS THE FIRST WOMAN CHEF. THEY HAD MY BASE IS JAPANESE COMFORT FOOD, WHICH JAPANESE MOM HAS BEEN COOKING FOR CENTURIES WITH LOVE FOR THEIR FAMILY. RIGHT HERE. I WAS NOMINATED AS A FINALIST FOR JAMES BEARD AWARD IN APRIL 2024. WHEN I HEARD MY NAME, I JUST COULD NOT BELIEVE IT. THANK YOU EVERYBODY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH. IN THIS. LIKE INDUSTRY, IT’S PRETTY MUCH STILL MAN DOMINATED. IT WAS VERY, VERY DIFFICULT FOR ME AS AN IMMIGRANT. ME BEING A WOMAN TO HAVE THIS CHEF JOB. MY KITCHEN STAFF IS 100% IMMIGRANTS, INCLUDING MYSELF AND MOST OF THEM ARE WOMEN MOMS. SO FOR ME TO, YOU KNOW, PROVIDE WORKSPACE FOR WOMEN AND ALSO, YOU KNOW, TEACH THEM TO TO BE BETTER, TO BE IN THE INDUSTRY IS VERY, VERY IMPORTANT FOR ME. MORISHITA IS ALSO A MEMBER OF THE STATE DEPARTMENT’S AMERICAN CULINARY CORPS. THAT’S A NETWORK OF 80 U.S. CHEFS WHO PARTICIPATE IN STATE DEPARTMENT EVENTS TO ENGAGE FOREIGN DIGNITARIE