Meet Taku Kondo | Sushi Chef, Fisherman/Forager, and YouTuber

We had the good fortune of connecting with Taku Kondo and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Taku, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
I was born in Osaka, Japan. As many would consider the street food capital of Japan. I moved to the US in 2000 with my mother and two brothers. Our dad stayed in Japan to support us while we got settled in. The plan was for him to move with us after about a year but in 2001, 9/11 happened and immigration was shut down. My father, unable to attain a visa to the US, ended up staying in Japan. We grew up in Simi Valley, CA where we had some family, my great aunt from Okinawa and her family. We had a lot of freedom and often spent time outdoors fishing, biking, playing sports, etc. When I moved out to college, I asked my mother why we moved to the US in the first place. I didn’t really know the reason when I was a kid, as we just go along with what our parents say. She said, “we moved to the US so you kids can be kids and have a good childhood filled with fun.” She goes onto say the societal stress of doing well in school and extra curricular are incredibly demanding in Japan. Kids have little time to play. Although I did okay in school, my mother never put any pressure on us to get straight A’s, unlike a stereotypical Asian parent.

I went to SFSU for college, got a degree in kinesiology in the hopes of becoming a physical therapist. Instead, I decided to go and become a sushi chef. I loved cooking throughout college and wanted to test my skills against professionals. The first restaurant I worked at gave me an opportunity. Since I didn’t have any professional kitchen experience, I was without pay for the first month as a trial. Worked hard that first month and I was able to prove myself worthy of the job. I learned an incredible amount on the job but the pay was terrible, the hours were long, and the work was grueling. After a year, I decided to go utilize my degree and get a job in physical therapy. The work was easy, chill, weekends and holidays off, a complete 180 from working in a restaurant. I know I would’ve been a good physical therapist but the passion wasn’t there but it was still there for cooking. After a year, I made my way back to the same restaurant as I was promised a more leading roll in the sushi bar. I took the offer and after another year and half or so I was teaching a lot more than I was learning. Internally, I knew I wanted keep learning more. So, I quit that restaurant and got an offer to work at a more traditional high end omakase style sushi bar. The learning continued there and around the same time, I started a YouTube channel. Showcasing my love for the outdoors and my passion for cooking. I called it, Outdoor Chef Life. It soon became very popular and my viewers knew the restaurant I worked at so I would get subscribers visiting me all the time and becoming my customers. I was up to 160k subscribers within a year and half. Ultimately, making the decision to go full time with my YouTube channel.

Now, I travel, fish, and cook in all different parts of the world. One of the reasons I wanted to become a chef was because food is universal and if I know how to cook, I can work anywhere. The dream of traveling the world. Now, I’m living the dream. Constantly having fun filled with new adventures. My point to the question above, my upbringing of prioritizing enjoying what you do, ultimately led me to pursuing an unorthodox career that allows me to prioritize living the dream.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Becoming a professional sushi chef and utilizing all the skills I’ve learned throughout the years has propelled my Youtube channel to stand out amongst the rest. The reason I started the channel was because I was an avid viewer of many ‘catch and cook’ style videos. Where they go out and catch their own dinner. But most of the cooking was really bad and a second thought for most channels at the time. I wondered if I focused on the cooking as much as the fishing or even more I might be able to kill two birds with one stone. Gaining the viewers that love fishing and outdoors, as well as viewers that love cooking. It worked out perfectly and I’m constantly trying to level up my fishing and cooking.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
This is an easy one as I did this recently while living in New Zealand for a year. One of my best friends, Dwight Hwang gyotaku artist, and his wife and son came to visit. We started it off with going camping along the northland of New Zealand. I took them to my favorite fishing spot where we managed to catch big snapper and kingfish. Next we rented a place right on the beach to relax and fish some more. Then we headed back down towards the city where we met up with my kiwi friends that run a program with the native Maori people and give out freshly caught fish to the community. Then finished it off with our Maori friends making art with fish and creating a community art piece. It was a perfect week.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I wouldn’t be here without the huge life decision from my mother. Leaving behind a comfortable life in Japan, risked it all for us to be able to enjoy our childhood.

Website: outdoorcheflife.com

Instagram: @outdoorcheflife

Facebook: outdoor chef life

Youtube: outdoor chef life