Not that I was ever a huge fan of his to begin with, but I am now officially boycotting David Schlosser’s establishments, including Shibumi… He’s been deleting IG posts which are contrary to his colonialist views on sakura mochi.
The offending IG post (current responses are still in flux):
https://www.instagram.com/p/CNtEzygBt38/
apparently he edited the caption, what did it originally say?
Many of my Asian-American friends alerted me to this today. Instead of apologizing, the Shibumi IG is just deleting comments they don’t like.
Eater needs to know. @matthewkang @FarleyElliott @euno
Thanks for the alert.
Feeling like 
after seeing the full on display of hubris. NOT the words of a true shokunin.
PS: Not sorry I’ve never been. Continuing to save my $$$ for Hayato and Kaneyoshi.
Can someone provide a brief overview of how what he said was offensive. It reads mildly snotty to me, but I expect I’m missing a broader historical / cultural context.
You know that village mob scene in Frankenstein? That’s what you are inciting.
Wow. I’ve always had an “Emperor’s New Clothes” feeling about Schlosser and Shibumi, but this attitude is shocking and not something I could even imagine coming from any of the other Japanese chefs in town.
Actually, it is the words of an arrogant ganko shokunin.
Ham fisted wording that likely got taken WAY out of context.
Is there an explanation online somewhere? Google wasn’t much help.
Background:
The original post (screenshot below) from Shibumi’s IG shows a photo of a sakura mochi, declaring it the “most iconic dessert in Japan”. It’s a bit past sakura season, but whatever - innocent enough.
But then the original post goes on to ask why this isn’t served at other Japanese restaurants, followed by the statement that “It’s because these Japanese restaurants don’t understand, appreciate or care about promoting what Japanese cuisine is all about. “
Now, it’s perfectly fine to promote one’s dishes, but tearing down the rest of Japanese restaurant community to make your shill stand out makes this reprehensible in my book. And yes, I will call that out, because a lot of good people are being denigrated with this single statement.
Apparently many others agree. A flood of IG comments criticizing the above statement have been posted (many of which have since been deleted). The original post was since amended, deleting the above quote - But no apologies or explanation from Shibumi.
The link to the post is here - the comments are still coming in.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CNx803JB5yj/
There’s the apology.
Ouch bad form! You gotta be pretty close to executing flawlessly to flex this kind of muscle (for a non-native chef of any cuisine). Shibumi has not been on my list of places to try from the decidedly mix reports. Just feels like one those places that are hyped but I’ll end up feeling fleeced/suckered. One of the downsides of social media, the power of social media mastery and shoutyness often outweighs quality.
He seems very much the antithesis of Brando @ Hayato, which is on the top of my list of places I want to go.
Sounds a lot like #SorryNotSorry or “I’m sorry you felt that way” to me.
That sentence from the Sakura Mochi post was admittedly bad. What else from Shibumi or Schlosser is colonizing? Is one sentence enough to call the mob to take down this man and the business?
How dare you weaponize the woke movement to try to cut him down.
Everything I have ever heard or seen from Schlosser shows a deep respect for Japan, its people, and its culinary traditions. He always gives proper credit for his dishes and shares their history.
For you to light a fire in this way is wreckless. Bad form @J_L.
It was a bad post. You don’t like his food. Leave it at that. Don’t call for his head.
Exactly.
I mean if you think schIossers post wasn’t a big deal I think you’re definitely entitled to that opinion. But you in your response are gaslighting @J_L didn’t call for his head just mentioned that he didn’t find the post acceptable, alerted media people, and stated that he would be boycotting.
Wow talk about sanctimony. How dare @J_L have an opinion about something lol
Morihiro Onodera is such a mensch. He gave him applause for his mea culpa.
and he actually served sakura mochi
