[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 126 (Wednesday, August 5, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6367-S6368]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      REMEMBERING YOSHI KATSUMURA

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, last Sunday, the legendary chef Yoshi 
Katsumura passed away after a battle with cancer.
  You would never guess that a 15-minute walk from Wrigley Field, where 
hot dogs and beer reign supreme, would take you to a place bringing 
together the foods of Tokyo, Paris, Lyon, and Chicago. But that is what 
Yoshi built at the quiet, unassuming place known simply as Yoshi's 
Cafe. Honored by his peers for the past 30 years of exquisite food 
preparation, Yoshi was a master of his art.
  Yoshi was born in Japan's Ibaraki Prefecture--a region on the main 
island of Japan--in 1950. At the age of 20, he apprenticed under 
another legendary chef, Hiroyuki Sakai in Tokyo. Through Sakai, Yoshi 
began learning the complexities of French cooking.
  In 1973, Yoshi ventured to Chicago, where he quickly advanced in fine 
French culinary arts. He studied under Chicago's first celebrity chef, 
Jean Banchet, at Le Francais. Yoshi would go on to refine his skills in 
Paris and Lyon, and he returned to Chicago as a chef and partner at the 
city's premier French fusion restaurant, Jimmy's Place. In 1982, Yoshi 
opened his own restaurant with his wife Nobuko, Yoshi's Place.
  For more than three decades, Yoshi's Cafe has won the hearts and 
stomachs of Chicago and the country. Yoshi's has been featured on the 
Food Network and listed among ``America's Top Tables'' by Conde Nast's 
Gourmet magazine. His fusion of cultures brought diners to North 
Halsted Street for dishes like Hamachi tartare and the Wagyu burger.
  If you look closely for a sign next to Yoshi's Cafe, you will find 
that Aldine Avenue east of Halsted is designated ``Yoshi Katsumura 
Way.'' His way was creating wonderful food for his community and making 
it a better place. He served on the Northalsted Business Alliance board 
and organized charitable events, including Hurricane Sandy relief and 
aid for victims of the 2011 Japanese tsunami. And he always took the 
time to talk to his customers.
  Loretta and I love Yoshi's. I once showed up at the restaurant on a 
Monday evening, forgetting it was closed. Stranded on the corner, 
trying to decide where to go, I heard someone call my name. It was 
Yoshi, who lived

[[Page S6368]]

above the restaurant, calling down to me and offering to fix a meal for 
me on his day off. That was the moment when service became friendship 
and I came to know the goodness of this man.
  Yoshi was indeed a special kind of man. His last message was to keep 
Yoshi's Cafe going. He will be missed. Loretta and I send our prayers 
and thoughts to his wife, Nobuko; his daughter, Mari; his son, Ken; his 
brother Kazuhiro Katsumura; and grandson Hiro.

                          ____________________