Masako Morishita’s path to becoming a James Beard Award winner was anything but ordinary. Born in Kobe, Japan, Morishita moved to Washington, D.C. in 2013 with one suitcase and a dream to try out for an American cheerleading team. She landed a spot on the Washington Commanders cheer squad, staying for five years and becoming the team’s first captain from overseas. Today, she is the executive chef of Perry’s and the 2024 winner of Emerging Chef presented by S.Pellegrino® Sparkling Natural Mineral Water.
Since arriving in America, Morishita has been driven by a “goal of introducing the things from Japanese culture that people are not familiar with and breaking down stereotypes.” Through potlucks and sharing leftovers from home with her teammates, Morishita sparked a curiosity within her community for the Japanese comfort food she grew up eating. She often heard, “what is this? I’ve never tasted anything like it.”
As she retired from her cheerleading career and contemplated her next step, Morishita reflects, “that [reaction to my food] gave me the idea to consider cooking as my vessel to keep introducing my culture. But I’m an immigrant and my family are in Japan, so I was scared to jump into a completely different career without family support.”
Even then, Morishita was no stranger to restaurants: her family has had a bar and restaurant in Kobe for nearly a century, which her mother and father still run today. “It was just the two of them,” says Morishita. “We struggled a lot, so my parents were really against [me pursuing a career in restaurants] because they know how hard it is. Ever since I was a little kid, they would tell me to work for a company where I’ll get a steady paycheck every two weeks.”
But Morishita remained steadfast, starting a pop-up in 2019 called Otabe, “inspired by a Japanese phrase that moms say when telling their kids to eat.” In 2021, she was approached by the acclaimed Washington, D.C. wine bar Maxwell Park to prepare three dishes for a tasting. She recalls, “I ended up bringing 15 different dishes—I really thought this might be my first and last chance to have this kind of opportunity. They offered me a job [as executive chef] and I realized because of the pandemic and everything that if I don’t do this now, I won’t know what will happen in the future.”
Though she did not have formal culinary training, Morishita learned recipes and techniques from her mother and grandmother, both of whom were chefs, and began to hone her own creative approach in response to her environment:
“Washington, D.C. is such a diverse city. Since moving here, I’ve experienced a lot of different kinds of cuisines and flavors. My memories of Japan and my experience living in D.C. have combined to create this unique cuisine that I do: Japanese comfort food with a modern twist.”
For Morishita, striking a balance between tradition and modernity while centering her own fun is core to her vision as a chef. This vision guided her process while designing a food menu to accompany the diverse flavor profiles of the wines at Maxwell Park and has continued to do so in her current position as the executive chef of Perry’s.
At Perry’s, she has introduced a popular Japanese breakfast experience, where guests enjoy a tray of nine dishes including rice, pickles, beef stew with Japanese vegetables, dashi, grilled and traditionally cured ocean trout, and more.
For that service, Morishita honors what she knows of Japanese breakfast, “but dinner time is completely different, it's a party! My mom always told me to think outside of the box, both in life in general and in cooking, and to have fun. This has become my life philosophy and guided my creation process. It always starts with ‘what if?’ Ideas always come to me right before I fall asleep, so the next day, I come to the kitchen and start creating.” Among the inventive dishes she proudly shares with her local community is Morishita’s miso butter clams, inspired by her father’s favorite way to eat rice: with a little bit of miso soup on top and butter. Morishita admits “this is a no-no in Japanese culture and not an appropriate way to eat rice or miso soup, but he loves it and I do, too.” With their beloved combination in mind, Morishita has perfected this harmonious dish of clams, garlic, chile, and butter in a sweet miso broth of sake, dashi, tamari soy sauce, and mirin.
Morishita’s impact extends beyond the delicious culinary creations that carry her story. She is a U.S. State Department American Culinary Corps member and is driven by a dedication to improving the industry for those along her journey, particularly other immigrant women with a dream. She hopes to inspire the next generation to pursue their passions by creating “a good work-life balance for my staff, so when they fly away to do something bigger, they can do the same thing to their staff so we can have more talented chefs blossom in the future.”
With her first James Beard Award medallion in hand, Morishita reflects: “I feel like the Foundation saw me and that I was heard, and I really appreciate that. I don’t do a tasting menu or ‘tweezer dishes’, so for what I do to be recognized is literally my American Dream come true. I wanted to introduce this beautiful cuisine with all its possibilities to different audiences, and to create this curiosity in people makes me so happy.”
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Yasmin Hariri is branded content manager at the James Beard Foundation.
