Katina and I are so stoked to be traveling to Japan at the end of May to celebrate twenty years of friendship with @namaesan of @leffervescence in Tokyo. This is our first trip to Japan in over two years and is a special opportunity to continue two decades of collaboration as well as some seafood sustainability initiatives locally with the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. Katina and I originally met Namae-san during our time working at Michel Bras in Hokkaido. He looked after our family and we helped each other with language and life. Later on we worked together again at The Fat Duck in the UK and continued supporting each other. As we opened our own restaurants we helped each other through challenges. Namae-san has always been there for us, in particular when we had devastating wildfires and he immediately came out to assist us in raising support funds for the community. I’m so amazed and proud of all he’s done inside and outside of the kitchen. Its an honor to bring SingleThread to L'Effervescence and continue our friendship and collaborations. Thanks for always being there for us my friend. 📸 20 Years of friendship! Two young chefs with Michel Bras Toya Hokkaido and some big dreams. Below with Katina at SingleThread- still dreaming after all the years.