In Japanese cuisine the term "omakase" often refers to the "Chef's choice", or a style of tasting menu comprised by the Chef rather than being specified by the customer. At it's core, the practice of ordering "omakase style" is about entrusting your meal to the Chef, knowing that his ultimate goal is for you to have the best possible meal he can provide. It is the Japanese equivilent of the types of tasting menus you find in Michelin starred kitchens cooking haute cuisine, more often than not rooted in French technique and driven by the seasonality of ingredients so that they are consistently used at the very peak of their quality.

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​Omakase literally translates to "I'll leave it upto you", which is derived from the meaning of the word "Makaseru", "to entrust".​

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Having worked at the Michelin starred Sushi Ran in Sausalito and being exposed up close to the technique being practiced by Mitsunori Kusakabe (of Nobu NYC and Miami) as a young cook before spending the subsequent 8 years that included long stretches of cooking in Michelin starred kitchens, our Executive Chef and owner developed an interest in sushi and traditional Japanese kaiseki cooking that never left him. After leaving his position of Executive Sous Chef at Tyler Florence's acclaimed Wayfare Tavern in San Francisco, he began freelancing and working as a private chef in order to spend more time at home with his family in lieu of the 80 hour work weeks typically associated with being a Chef, and ultimately return to something that had interested him for years: the craft of making sushi.

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Being influenced by the abundance and unique quality of produce being grown in the San Francisco Bay Area and heavily impressed by the level of cooking in vegetarian and vegan restaurants like Michelin starred Ubuntu in Napa, Rouge Tomate in NYC, and the history behind the movement of Nouvelle Cuisine that occurred in France with Chefs like Bernard Loiseau, he decided to abandon the element of incorporating fish altogether, and arrived at the concept of creating technically impeccable vegetarian and vegan sushi. As it turned out, there was a huge demand for it.

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Expanding into a boutique catering company to include sustainably sourced seafood sushi, we incorporate components of both modern technique and Edomae inspired nigiri and maki. We continually endeavor to produce our unique product and diligently push our craft, with the attention to detail our clients have come to expect. With deep ties in the San Francisco and greater LA culinary communities, it has been a natural and extremely gratifying progression.

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Michael Goldfarb

Chef de Cuisine

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Michael Goldfarb is a 32-year-old sushi chef who was classically trained at the California Sushi Academy in Los Angeles in 2006. Even from a young age he knew he wanted to be a sushi chef and worked his way throughout some San Francisco's most prestigious sushi counters.

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Seeking to round out his sushi experience, Michael worked in multiple Michelin starred kitchens before taking over the role of Executive Chef at Sparrow on Haight. Following his time leading the culinary team at Sparrow, Michael returned to the craft of making sushi as the Chef de Cuisine of Nike's world headquarters in Portland, Oregon - where he served technical and diverse sushi to almost a thousand employees, executives and VIP guests on a daily basis.

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He now leads the team at Makaseru for intimate and large scale events, as well as with our Executive Chef to tailor unique and bespoke private chef services for clients.