Two and three Michelin-starred restaurants in New York City turn to one supplier for their tuna supplies: Yama seafood. Under the direction of director Nobu Yamanashi, the vendor specializes in bringing the best albacore, bigeye, yellowfin and bluefin tuna to the best restaurants in town.
Yamanashi and his team start their days at 3 a.m. at their Jersey City, NJ store, preparing supplies for delivery to restaurants such as. in front Daniel and The Saint Bernard. “Tuna is very difficult,” says Yamanashi. “Every fish is different, from the color to the texture to the fat content, so on some days we have to cut, cut and cut and cut until we find the right one. Quality is more important than anything else. ”
His team spends the day inspecting the fish that arrives from the suppliers, weighing it, dismantling the finest pieces according to customer specifications, re-inspecting them, and packing and shipping the pieces. This includes 400-500 pounds of bluefin tuna from Spain on many days.
Yamanashi adheres to the rules and role models established by his father Kingo Yamanashi over 40 years ago when he founded the company: never steal or cheat and always say good morning when you come to work. “If you can’t do it here as a mentality, you can’t do it out there making deliveries,” explains Yamanashi. His father wanted “loyal, hardworking people who will never lie, cheat, or steal him. These are the people who are still here today, who are retiring and who will have this job for 30 or 40 years. „
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