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Korin's showroom, established in 1982 and located
at 57 Warren Street in lower Manhattan, is filled with exquisite knives
and tableware that express our founder and president Saori Kawano's
passion for Japanese traditions and culture.
For over 20 years, Korin Japanese Trading Corp. has been an industry
leader in the import and distribution of fine Japanese chef knives,
tableware and restaurant supplies to Japanese and American restaurants
and hotels. We have over 5,000 commercial clients and 7,000 chefs
in the United States, Canada and around the world.
Many of our customers are prestigious restaurants
including Nobu, Morimoto, Sea Grill, and the Danny Meyer Restaurant
Group, plus hotels such as Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons, Hyatt Regency,
Marriott, Hilton, Sheraton, the Mandarin Oriental Hotel and many others.
Korin's goal is to choose and create the right
products to enhance our customer's cuisine and brand. All of our products
are designed for restaurant and home use. Our vast inventory includes
tableware, chef knives, uniforms, sushi cases, sushi robots, and other
kitchen equipment.
Korin prides itself by offering the highest level
of customer service and knowledge of trends in Asian cuisine. Saori
Kawano travels extensively to Japan, China, and Thailand to find new
products and manufactures to meet our customers' needs and highest
specifications. Korin's newest office opened in Shanghai in 2005. |
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Saori
Kawano |
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 SAORI
KAWANO is the founder and president of Korin Japanese Trading
Corp. She moved to New York from Japan in 1978 to pursue her lifelong
dream of bringing Japanese knives and tableware into American
restaurants and homes.
Ms. Kawano's finely tuned business and management skills earned
her the 2003 Top Diversity-Owned Business Award from DiversityBusiness.com
and the 2004 Asian Women
in Business Entrepreneurial Leadership Award. She has been
an active member of the James
Beard Foundation since 2002 and received the James Beard
Foundation Angel Award in 2005 for her independent vision, dedication
and support.
Saori Kawano serves on the Board of Directors for the National
Minority Business Council (NMBC) and was recognized by the
NMBC’s Women’s Business Committee in 2006, receiving
their "Salute to Women Certificate" for her accomplishments.
She is currently the Executive Vice President/Japanese Liaison
for the Euro-American
Women's Council and participates in many food industry organizations,
including the International
Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP), Women
Chefs and Restaurateurs (WCR) and the Foodservice
Consultants Society International (FCSI.)
Ms. Kawano is currently drawing upon her in-depth knowledge
of food culture in Japan and the Americas and her vast network
of professional associates and supporters to launch the
Gohan Society, a non-profit organization fostering US-Japan
culinary and cultural exchange. Through the
Gohan Society,
Ms. Kawano hopes to bring together professionals from culinary
institutions, food journalism and publishing, the restaurant
and restaurant supply industries and everyone who loves food
to develop meaningful exchange programs. |
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Chiharu
Sugai |
CHIHARU SUGAI has spent years in training
and continues to learn traditional knife sharpening techniques
by grand masters in Sakai and Tokyo, Japan. As co-founder of
Korin Japanese Trading Corp., he has sharpened the knives of
chefs from renowned restaurants such as Nobu, Bouley, Danube
and many others. Mr.
Sugai teaches knife sharpening workshops at New York’s
leading cooking schools including the Culinary Institute of
America, and the French Culinary Institute as well as at Korin's
showroom. He has also taught the kitchens of NYC’s finest
restaurants including L. lmpero, Daniel, Jean Georges and many
others.
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