Chef Masa Miyake, Co- owner and Partner Miyake Restaurants Chef Masa Miyake has been mastering his culinary skills since the age of 15. Having grown up in Aomori Prefecture, in the rural Tōhoku Region of Japan, Chef Miyake yearned to explore new opportunities to hone his skills abroad. At 21, he moved to Manhattan where he got his first job, working in a macrobiotic kitchen. Chef Miyake found this dietary regimen interesting because of its similarity to that of the rural Japanese. After several years of working in various New York City restaurants, Chef Miyake took the knowledge he gained in America and returned to Japan, this time settling in the capital city of Tokyo. In Tokyo, Chef Miyake became classically trained in French and Italian cuisine, working alongside other notable chefs in the late 1990 s. Soon after, he opened his first restaurant in Tokyo, serving Italian food. As a Japanese native, Chef Miyake chose to open an Italian eatery because he believes patrons should never expect anything when entering a restaurant. His creative approach to food is rooted in a commitment to keep diners pleasantly surprised with changing menu options, top- quality, unique ingredients and minimal seasoning. Chef Miyake believes it s not the quality of the kitchen or the training of the chef if you use subpar ingredients, it will never be quality food. After experiencing great success, Chef Miyake left Japan once again and headed back to America in search of new challenges and opportunities. After vacationing in Portland and Bar Harbor, during his time in New York, he chose to return because Maine s coastline reminded him of Aomori. He settled in Portland specifically because of its reputation for being a food scene as well as the widespread support for innovative local businesses.
Here, he would eventually open Miyake, Pai Men Miyake and Miyake Diner restaurants. Chef Miyake s success stems from comprehensive training, unbridled playfulness, creativity and passion for experimenting without boundaries. With that in mind, Chef Miyake will change the menu weekly at Miyake Restaurant. Though he prides himself on sourcing the best products from around the world, Chef Miyake s true passion and priority is following a farm- to- table model whenever possible. On Miyake Farm in Freeport, Chef Miyake raises and breeds a wide variety of livestock to supply his restaurants with the freshest products possible. He imports rare breeds such as the Ossabaw Island Hog, American Guinea Hog and Mangalitsa to pair with ingredients he grows, raises and sources. Chef Miyake is also raising unique breeds of poultry and rabbit. Since the growing season in Maine is short, his vision for Miyake Farm is to build a greenhouse and cultivate herbs, fruits and vegetables to ensure his restaurants have the freshest ingredients all year long. Chef Miyake takes great pride in his culinary art, farm- to- table philosophy and commitment to the community. He lives on his Freeport farm with his wife, their three children and the family dog, Cookie.
William Garfield, Co- owner and Partner Miyake Restaurants From a young age, William Garfield spent the summer helping his aunt and uncle run their oyster farm, raw bar and lobster catering business on Cuttyhunk Island, off the coast of Massachusetts. But it wasn t until 2007, just a year into his undergraduate studies at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, that Garfield found his true niche in the restaurant industry. Six days a week, Garfield would commute 45 minutes from Bates to his serving job at the original Miyake restaurant on Spring Street in Portland, Maine. Garfield mostly worked front- of- house while Chef Masa Miyake stayed in the kitchen. The innovative philosophy behind Miyake intrigued Garfield and inspired him to create what he now calls his own approach to the service industry. Garfield s personal interaction with each customer, coupled with an atmosphere that truly transforms each dining experience into an event, is what makes Miyake stand out as a destination dining experience. For the two years that followed, Garfield witnessed the tiny restaurant s success attracting locals and foodies from around New England with its inventive Japanese fare and cozy, eccentric dining experience. In the fall of 2010, Garfield and Chef Miyake began discussing plans to open a second location restaurant. Soon after, Pai Men Miyake would open on State Street in Portland, offering guests a more casual approach to Japanese cuisine. Now, six years after his first serving job, Garfield is co- owner and partner of Miyake Restaurants. While proficient in the kitchen and able to work the line, Garfield spends
most of his time behind the scenes working with the restaurants vendors, financial forecasting and branding. Recently, Garfield spent a month working in Japan, becoming fully immersed in the culture before returning to Maine with new inspirations and techniques for the restaurants. One of Garfield s goals for Miyake Restaurants is to establish a complete cycle of sustainability through the Miyake Farm s ability to supply all of the restaurants with heritage breed pigs, chickens and other fowl. He also knows the ultimate success of the restaurants will come from the implementation of a variety of components from the quality of the food to the quality of the service.
Emily Phillips, Miyake Farm Manager Miyake Restaurants Emily Phillips joined Miyake Restaurants in July 2011. Since then she s worked at both Miyake and Pai Men Miyake, and on the administrative team. Today, Phillips spends most of her time managing the Miyake Farm in Freeport, Maine. The farm, established in March 2011, was created to provide Miyake restaurant locations with high- quality, naturally raised meats and vegetables. As manager of the farm, Phillips ensures it stays true to its vision: enable a farm- to- table experience for restaurant patrons to have an ongoing relationship to Miyake s ingredients, and educate staff and patrons about the process of cultivating a successful farm. Specifically, Phillips oversees day- to- day farm activities, animal breed selection, the annual production schedule, and the nutrition, diet and finishing of meat animals. Her goals at the farm are multifold and include: developing a green building that would house vegetables, fruits, cover/grain crops and livestock in a sustainable way; taking advantage of restaurant waste materials to benefit the farm, e.g. vegetable scraps and compostable items; managing the farm s three acres to be as productive as possible with pasture rotation, very tight livestock management, seeding cover crops that are nutritious for the breeds raised and also hearty in the Maine climate and housing animals in a way that helps the land. When she s not at Miyake Farm, Phillips spends as much time as she can at other local farms, enhancing her skills. She hopes to take her training to even greater heights over the coming year with a trip to Northern Japan to hone Japanese techniques that can then be integrated into the production of Miyake Restaurants cuisine. Phillips love for small- scale farming and passion for advancing her craft are invaluable to Miyake Restaurants.