Meet Saori Kawano, the Woman Who Introduced America’s Chefs to Japanese Knives — Resy | Right This Way

Saori Kawano: A Culinary Hero

Published: March 3, 2023

In honor of Women’s History Month this March, we’re resurfacing previously published features on women making an impact in the restaurant industry.

Every first-year student going into the Culinary Institute of America’s culinary program starts with a starter pack of eight knives: a set of different blades, each dedicated to honing a specific skill. But according to CIA alum and Bergdorf Goodman chef Adolfo Garcia, everyone in his year dreamt of owning one knife and one knife only: a knife from Korin.

A Japanese tableware and restaurant supply company founded in New York in 1982, Korin is regarded as the gold standard for Japanese chef knives by anyone working in the restaurant industry. Its founder and president is Saori Kawano.

Kawano is the kind of utterly gracious woman who will pat the seat next to her, so that a curious writer may sit close as she offers over three hours of her time for a peek at her life’s work.
“She’s kind of like the mom of all restaurants,” says Raymond Trinh, co-owner of Sixty Three Clinton in New York. “She takes care of everyone, and she’s the most generous, sweetest person.”

“She’s also just a boss,” adds Trinh’s partner and chef at the restaurant, Samuel Clonts. “She pretty much became the leader of Japanese knives in New York City.”

To understand Kawano’s impact on the American restaurant industry, Korin’s resident knife sharpener Vincent Kazuhito Lau points to the company’s 35th anniversary in 2017, where former Union Square Cafe chef Michael Romano gave a memorable speech. “He was saying that sometimes, on the ocean, it may look calm on the surface. But underneath, there’s a current that’s turning and moving the ocean, and that Saori is like that current underneath,” says Kazuhito Lau.

“And now, everyone’s using Japanese knives.”

As she tells it…

It all started when Kawano’s uncle brought her back a placemat depicting New York’s skyline. “Since I was very little, that was my dream, to go there someday,” says Kawano. An opportunity finally came in 1978, when her late ex-husband was eyeing Julliard in Manhattan. They left for New York with few resources and survived on Wonder Bread sandwiches for six months.

Kawano jokes that she got her start in the industry because she missed eating rice too much. With the promise of family meal, she got a job as a waitress at Nakagawa.
Having found stability three years into her job, Kawano re-assessed her goals and dreams in 1982: she wanted to share her cultural heritage and started selling dishes to Japanese restaurants in New York.

It took her six months…

To save and send $2,000 to Japan for purchasing tableware. With support, Korin launched in 1982 in Tribeca.
Kawano would glean phone numbers from the Yellow Pages, cold calling Japanese-sounding restaurant names.

Business was slow, but changed in 1991 when the French chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten visited her warehouse. Vongerichten bought everything she had in her showroom, becoming her first non-Asian client. Kawano realized she wanted more non-Asian customers and aimed to introduce Japanese chef knives to a broader audience.

And so began Kawano’s biggest challenge yet…

Introducing Japanese chef knives to a non-Asian audience proved difficult. Chefs were accustomed to Western brands and often misused the thin, single-edged blades. Kawano launched an educational campaign to teach proper knife handling.

The campaign culminated in a knife catalog in 1995, which grew into a detailed educational resource about Japanese knives.

Kawano’s ex-husband, Sugai, opened a maintenance and repair service inside the Korin store, helping chefs fix their knives, which played a key role in her business's survival.

After countless lectures…

American chefs began to take notice of Japanese knives. They learned and converted, and today, Japanese knives account for 20% of Korin’s business.

Kawano has successfully bridged cultures and understands her role in the hospitality industry. “Chefs want to cook the best meal for the customers. It’s the same with Japanese craftsmen.”

Kawano aims to pursue educational programs like the Gohan Society, founded in 2005, which provides scholarships for chefs to learn about Japan’s culinary traditions.

“I want to stay small as a company and be respected,” she states, noting her desire to connect people through her work.