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♪♪ >> We're in the kitchen with Chef Ash from Tatiana's Restaurant, and he's cooking up Tatiana's signature chicken.

Hope you're hungry.

♪♪ Chef Ash.

>> Hi.

How you doing?

Nice to see you.

>> Nice to see you.

Thanks for having us into your kitchen.

>> Thank you.

>> So what are we going to prepare today?

>> We're going to do my favorite dish, Tatiana's signature, coconut-crusted chicken.

>> Nice.

>> I create this dish for my wife, my lovely wife, and people love it.

>> That's wonderful.

So tell me about the restaurant, the name specifically.

How did you come up with Tatiana's?

>> How I coming with the name is the one I love my life.

Is my wife's name.

And I have good luck with the name.

>> How did you form your love of cooking?

>> Yeah, when I was young, I used to help my mother in my country.

I'm from Egypt.

And I fall in love with cooking.

And when I come in United States, I say, "You know what?

I want to open my own dream restaurant."

And that's what I did with my beautiful Tatiana, my wife.

>> All right.

So what are we doing here?

>> What do we do?

We got the organic chicken, and I dip it, coconut-crusted.

And after this, olive oil.

And I crust it here in the pan, and I put in the oven.

And what we do here, we get the lump crab.

>> Wow.

Lump crab.

I didn't know that was happening.

>> And we got the jumbo shrimp.

Always season the shrimp when you cook to get more flavor.

>> Got it.

And what kind of seasonings are you using?

>> Little bit of sumac and the cumin and smoked chili.

>> Nice.

Lovely.

>> Yeah.

>> So tell me about your lovely wife.

How did you meet her, and what did you guys have in common?

>> Well, my wife's from Ukraine.

You know, we met by good luck from my sister-in-law.

We used to work together, and she's the one who met me with my wife.

And we married in three days.

Too quick.

>> You married in three days?

>> Yes.

After three days.

We talk a little bit, and we got -- and the best gift that God give me.

>> Wow!

That's love at first sight.

That's lovely.

I love that.

>> Yeah.

So, what we did here, we did the chicken in the oven and the crab and the shrimp.

And what we do, we add little romesco sauce here for the shrimp.

>> What kind of sauce is that?

>> Romesco sauce.

>> What's that?

>> Fresh rosemary and basil.

Sun-dried tomato, olive oil, garlic.

>> Yum.

>> I have one already very good here.

>> Beautiful.

Beautiful.

>> Coconut-crusted organic chicken.

And we take the crab and we pan-sear it.

We crust it a little bit with coconut.

And I have here a very good sauce.

The trick, also, the sauce here, it is smoked manchego, asiago.

Little tiny marinara sauce to get the smoky flavor and the color better.

>> That looks great.

>> Mm-hmm.

We take the shrimp.

>> Wow.

>> Uh-huh.

And, uh... little romesco drizzle sauce here.

>> That is beautiful.

>> And a little bit of garnish.

The food you have to look beautiful because people eat with the eye.

And after this, they try it.

>> Love that.

People eat with the eye.

I like that.

>> People eat with the eye.

How the dish, the eye presented, and how you present the dish, making good, secure to try the food.

>> Well, that is gorgeous.

Before we go and taste this, tell me about your restaurant.

I mean, has it been an easy road to get to this point?

>> Yes, it is very hard, and it's a hard job.

Restaurant business is hard.

The job is not easy.

And you as a owner, you must work harder than employee.

In Tatiana's, every week, we always create new dishes under Tatiana's signatures.

>> That's wonderful.

And how do you come up with your ideas?

>> Honestly, it is from God.

It's a passion from inside.

I don't know.

Sometimes I drive in, sometimes I sit down, and just coming automatic.

>> Lovely.

Well, I'm so excited to try it.

So maybe we should go ahead and do that.

>> It's my pleasure.

>> All right.

Well, this looks beautiful.

I'm so excited to try it.

We're here with Chef Ash and his lovely wife now, Tatiana.

thank you for being here.

So -- So this looks great.

This is Tatiana's signature chicken, right?

>> Uh-huh.

♪♪ It is delicious.

It is really good.

>> Thank you.

>> Yeah.

With such passion that goes into your cooking, how could it not be delicious?

Right?

>> Thank you.

>> So, tell me, how does it feel to sit here in this restaurant location and just see kind of your passion and your love come to life?

>> We brought what we did, me and my wife, from hard work.

And the result is showing.

We opened our dream, fine dining.

And my wife always behind me, supporting me each step I move.

>> Well, Tatiana, how does it feel to have this be kind of like your family's passion?

>> So, I'm very glad that my husband dream became true and I'm part of it.

And I'm very happy that he can share his talent with people by producing this beautiful food.

>> All right.

Well, thank you so much for having us in the kitchen.

>> Was a pleasure.

No problem.

>> So nice to be here.

>> Enjoy.

You're gonna have it.

>> Yes, I'm gonna have some more.

Thank you so much.

>> Thank you.

Thank you.

♪♪ ♪♪ >> We're in the kitchen with Chef Akhi of Akhi Sushi, and he's preparing some of his favorite dishes.

Hope you're hungry.

Chef Akhi.

Nice to see you.

>> Nice to see you.

>> Chef Akhi, it is so nice to be here in your kitchen.

Thank you for having us.

>> Thank you so much for stopping by.

>> Yeah.

So what are we going to be preparing today?

>> Oh, today I'm going to make something that's easy and everybody knows.

It's called Green Dragon Roll.

And there will be another menu that I will be making that's a little different from other places, which is sushi sandwich.

♪♪ >> Sounds great.

Well, let's get started.

>> All right.

Just start from the, uh -- spreading rice on the seaweed.

After that... take a bamboo mat and get ready to roll.

This is shrimp tempura.

Put in it.

And with some cucumbers in it.

And just roll like this.

It's very easy to be making, actually, and with some sesame seeds on this.

And since we have already called Green Dragon, to make it green color, you use -- we use avocados.

Slice it this way.

>> That looks wonderful.

When did you first begin preparing sushi?

>> This, I started 2012.

I came here as a refugee.

When I got here, I don't know which path I should be going, but some of my friends are already making some sushi.

So after doing it for a while, I started to loving it.

>> So you came here as a refugee in 2012?

>> Yes.

>> And how hard was it, you know, when you first arrived?

What were some of your challenges?

>> You'll be wondering every -- every day, "What am I going to do next?

How am I going to survive next?"

But the people here in this country is -- they are awesome.

Everyone I met, they are very awesome.

>> That's wonderful.

And this looks beautiful.

So, tell me, is this -- is this done now?

>> Yeah, it's done.

It's ready to place on the plate.

>> Okay.

>> And this is... Green Dragon.

And put some ginger here.

♪♪ Some wasabi.

>> That looks wonderful.

>> Yeah.

Put some sauce.

>> All right.

Well, that one.

So one done.

What else are you gonna prepare today?

>> All right.

I will prepare another dish, which is... which is a sandwich.

I just love making it, this one, because it's very different from most of the sushi places.

>> So what have you added there?

>> Here I just added some tempura flakes, which makes crispy when you eat.

And a... ♪♪ ...spicy mayo layer.

And this is going to be a tuna sandwich.

♪♪ Cut into this way.

And spread some spicy mayonnaise here.

And put some -- topped with... >> That looks beautiful.

>> Put some fish eggs on it.

>> Ah.

♪♪ >> Yes?

>> That looks so nice.

So, here we are.

Looks delicious.

>> Oh, it is.

>> I have to admit, I do not have much experience with sushi, so I'm pretty excited to try this.

But you might have to help me.

And one big bite or...?

>> Yes.

>> Yeah?

Okay.

Try my best.

Oh, brother.

♪♪ >> [ Chuckles ] >> It's delicious.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> When you think about how far you've come since you arrived here in 2012 and seeing your own restaurant sign there, how does it make you feel to see Akhi Sushi right there on the wall?

>> I will say maybe I am very much in a close -- closer to achieving American dream.

I hope I'm already achieving, but I hope to achieve more than this.

Yeah.

So, hopefully, I'll make it.

>> I know you will.

Well, Chef Akhi, it has been so nice spending time with you in the kitchen.

Thank you so much for having us.

>> Thank you so much for stopping by.

>> Gonna get back in here.

♪♪ >> For more from Mosaic, please like and subscribe to the channel, or to help support this project, please visit witf.org/mosaic.

Get out of your Internet rut with Mosaic, a new YouTube channel from WITF.

A break from the usual mind-numbing nonsense.

You'll find amazing music, beautiful art, and a variety of inspirational creators.

Calm in a crazy world.

If you're subscribed to WITF, you'll want to be subscribed to Mosaic.

♪♪