Press Release: Sept 30, 2020
September 30, 2020
Taglish Collective, the newly-formed restaurant group by Chef Michael Collantes, is proud to announce its second concept in the form of Soseki, a modern take on omakase and multi-course dining. Soseki, which means cornerstone/foundation stone, will be an intimate 10-seat reservation only dining experience opening in the beginning of 2021 in the Winter Park, FL area. Chef Michael has partnered up with Chef Denni Cha of Sushi Densho, a pop-up operation that has been serving sushi out of Swine and Sons during the pandemic.
Chef Denni has carved out an impressive career spanning over 12 years working for some of America’s most influential and well-known sushi chefs that include Chef Tyson Cole of Uchi and Chef Makoto Okuwa of Makoto as well as being the head sushi chef for Doraku. Chef Denni brings a very unique take on sushi being of Korean descent as well as being raised in the south. His hope is to bring forward the true sense of “omotenashi” which means hospitality in Japanese while still representing his upbringing and culture on the plate.
Chef Michael has spent time working with some of Michelin Guide’s most celebrated chefs that include Wolfgang Puck, Joel Robuchon, Eric Ripert and Masa Takayama. Additionally, he spent time under Chef Jennifer Carroll of Top Chef whom he considers a huge influence and a mentor. Chef Michael moved back to Orlando from Hawaii in 2015 after opening Park Restaurant in Honolulu, and most recently left The Bento Group in 2019 as the culinary director to open Taglish, a fast casual Filipino American concept.
“Orlando is home. I grew up in Winter Park, went to culinary school here and held my first head sushi chef position at Wolfgang’s in Disney Springs. To be able to put all of my experiences into Soseki and tell a story through a multi-course dinner is a dream come true.” - Chef Michael
“Creating Soseki we knew we never wanted to have a big restaurant. To scale down the operation and have a personal connection to our guests can only happen with less seats. The food will be rooted in cuisine we commonly cooked in the past which is sushi, but will draw heavily from our own cooking experiences and heritage. While still leaving room for the spontaneity to cook with whatever ingredients that come into season and to work with specialty vendors locally and across the globe.” - Chef Denni
Soseki will start preview dinners and a pop-up series of to-go lunch boxes out of the Emeril Lagasse Foundation Kitchen House & Culinary Garden that is operated by Edible Education Experience (EEE), a non-profit organization tucked in the College Park neighborhood. EEE's seed-to-table approach provides the perfect environment to house a culinary incubator.
"In efforts to pivot with the social climate of COVID, Edible Education Experience is embracing an exciting new endeavor to deepen our impact and develop new programs. Moving forward, EEE is looking to further embrace our seed-to-table mission by expanding our current support of local chefs & farmers and having a more prominent role in the local culinary scene. As a new venture, we are excited to collaborate with Chef Michael Collantes. It is our hope that this partnership can open the door to impact conversations and help educate Central Florida on seasonal eating, gain access to fresh produce & ingredients, bring farmers and chefs together, and build food confidence in the community." -EEE
“Cooking seasonally in Orlando can be a challenge when you only see hot and hotter seasons. But having Brad Jones, the co-founder and garden educator at EEE as a resource to continue to keep chefs like ourselves engaged in what can grow in Florida soil at what time and season, has been invaluable. We are excited to explore what this collaboration can do for the future of the Orlando culinary community, and we are ready to serve some delicious food.“ - Chef Michael
For more info and to follow us on our journey, connect with us at www.sosekifl.com and our social media channels @sosekifl.