Wusthof: Defining the edge

"I definitely don't relate to the whole chef is a rock star thing..if anything you have to take a punk rock approach to it and try to not be the rock star and do things yourself and try to do it your way" -- Chef Richie Nakano.

For some people, the dream of starting their own (fill in the blank) is too strong to resist regardless of the repercussions and pitfalls and potential failures that might happen. The road is dark ahead, and who the hell knows what might happen?

Chef Richie Nakano is just such a man. He's obsessed and passionate about ramen, and is trying to stake his claim by opening a ramen shop in San Francisco called Hapa.

This is one in a series of branded content films from knife maker Wüsthof, that is
sincere and smart and relevant. The others star portland butcher Camas Davis and Cleveland-based chef Jonathan Swayer.

This is what branded content should be. We see the knives in the videos but not that much. It's way more interesting for Wüsthof to tell the story of how great their knives are, by aligning themselves with chefs and artisans who dream, aspire, and create. I think it's admirable they got out of the way here and allowed regular people to tell their own story, rather than default to a Big Name Chef™.

I will admit, as someone who loves to cook, I am definitely the target here. I like my local butchers and I support people who believe in what they do.

However, you don't need to know for instance, that ramen is finally making its way to the states, that this might be the next huge culinary explosion to matter, and that there are some artisans out there who are just insane enough to go out on a limb and live their dream despite a looming fiscal cliff to appreciate the stories.

Nice, inspiring stuff.

Check out Richie Nakano's film here.