A Savory Pancake Greater Than Its Parts: Ichii Kaoru, Okonomiyaki Chef

Okonomiyaki is a popular street food in Hiroshima. Lauded as the best Okonomiyaki chef of his generation, Ichii Kaoru (66) owns the first Okonomiyaki restaurant to be listed in a world-renowned restaurant guidebook. He's elevated this former street food into top-flight cuisine. His secret is using a steaming technique that maximizes the sweetness of the cabbage; high-speed cameras reveal the expertise required to manipulate this steam. But Ichii had to follow a rocky road to reach his current heights. Discover how one man dedicated himself to an obsession with Okonomiyaki.