serving the multicultural community of Qatar. By Mudassir Raja
Katsuya by Starck, a restaurant offering Japanese cuisine, opened its first outlet in Villaggio mall recently. The restaurant offers traditional and modern Japanese dishes prepared by and supervised by a seasoned and trained Head Chef: Mark Sorezo.
Sorezo hails from the Philippines and has been working as a chef with restaurants offering Japanese cuisines in the Middle East for the last nine years.
Community caught up with him about his experience and expertise. Sorezo, who conducted a masterclass on sushi making on the opening day, said that he graduated in Information Technology from the Philippines and started a job with a fashion wares business.
But his true calling would end being something else entirely. He said, “My love for Japanese food started when I was in college. I would eat a dish and then try to make it myself. I got bored with the fashion wares job and instead moved to Dubai where I got a job with a restaurant as a chef.”
He said, “I worked with the restaurant for five years, starting in 2008 and trying and improving my expertise in Japanese cuisine. I started as a chef and kept getting promotions every year due to my hard work. After five years. I finally got to the position of senior associate chef.”
Throughout his stint, his love and appreciation for Japanese food kept on growing. “I loved my work. I really enjoyed preparing sushi. I enjoyed learning how to prepare and serve the food fresh and delicious. And I loved learning how to turn food preparation into an art.”
The seasoned chef said he has been enjoying his association with Katsuya by Starck. He said, “I joined Katsuya in 2013 as head chef. I worked with them for two years before they sent me to the US for further training. The training really improved my skills. Now I am considered a brand in making sushi.”
He said, “I have been in Qatar for two years as Katsuya sent me to the country for the opening. I have been studying the market and waiting for the opening of the restaurant in Villaggio. I have found Qatar to be really nice and a great opportunity for the restaurant.”
Sorezo is hopeful that their restaurant will do good in Qatar. He said, “There is a great opportunity for Katsuya to compete in the market. Our experience in Kuwait and other Middle Eastern countries show that the Gulf people like Japanese food and Katsuya in Qatar offers luxury.”
The chef insisted that their food is going to be different from what is served elsewhere in Qatar. He said, “We make sure that our food is delicious as well as fresh. We offer different kinds of dishes, besides sushi. These include Salmon Trio – nigari, sashimi, ceviche; Tuna – regular and Toro; different Maki rolls – The Hollywood, Salmon Lemon Roll, Sunset Roll, Crispy Onion Albacore; crispy chicken salad; crispy brussel sprouts; rock shrimp; Crispy rice with duck; crispy rice with spicy tuna; Ceviche and others.”
Sorezo expects to receive a variety of customers to the restaurant, given the multicultural makeup of the country. He said, “My experience tells me that Arab people love Japanese food. However, we expect to have a variety of people visiting our restaurant. We serve Japanese food with the taste of US making in the Middle East.”
Talking about the sourcing of ingredients, Sorezo said that it has never been easy to get all the ingredients from the market. “We mostly import basic food items from Japan. As far as fresh Salmon is concerned, we import it from Norway. Our supplier brings two ships every week. We make sure that the fish is fresh, with good texture and colour. If the fish is not fresh, we will not accept the shipment.”
In future, Sorezo dreams of opening his own restaurant one day. He said, “In the near future, I will continue working with Katsuya and keep on improving my skills. Eventually, I wish to have my own restaurant back in the Philippines, where I will serve the best Japanese cuisine.”
