Sara Wylie
Dai Fukasaku didn’t always want to be a chef and restaurant owner.
He began his career in music in his native Japan, thinking one day he would teach music theory.
Things changed when he took up a part-time job as a server, eventually graduating to sushi chef.
“The way I was taught singing was to understand all the meaning of the word of the song you’re singing, whether it is Italian, French, Japanese, English, it doesn’t matter,” he reveals in the video.
“Just know the meaning. And I apply the same technique to cooking. I wanted to know my ingredients. I wanted to know who cooked my seafood, the produce. And once I found those similarities, I was like, ‘Oh maybe cooking is for me!’”
“I also knew I could only do it here in Prince Rupert because I already had enough direct connection with local fishermen and local fishers,” he says.
Chef Dai is passionate about only buying local seafood.
“Right now, what’s happening in West Coast Canada is a fishing licence is being used as a tool of investment. Around 50% of fishing licences are owned by foreigners,” he said. “By supporting small-scale fishermen, we can tell the politicians a fishing licence owner needs to wear gumboots, be in the boat, and fish for themselves.”
Next time you’re in Rupert, be sure to visit Dai at Fukasaku for an incredible seafood meal.
You can also find the restaurant here on Facebook.
