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All aboard for ramen and rice at Parque La Plancha

When asked what makes him different from other chefs, Chef Yusuke Kogure does not miss a beat. 

“I am obsessed with rice; it needs to be perfect — there is no middle ground.” 

Kogure explains that, despite popular belief, rice preparation requires exceptional attention to detail at every step and can be extremely tricky.  

“You can cut the best tuna in the world flawlessly, but if it’s paired with sub-standard rice in the preparation of sushi or any other dish, all you are doing is wasting quality tuna or whatever else.”

Kogure has come a long way from his native town of Sapporo, Japan, and his days as a culinary arts student and part-time fisherman. 

Now Kogure is praised as one of the premier Japanese chefs on the Yucatán Peninsula, with three restaurants bearing his name — Cancún and Tulum and now an express version — Kogure Express — at Parque La Plancha in Mérida. 

Kogure gives off the energy of a fun-loving person who does not take himself too seriously but focuses on mastering his art form. 

After leaving Japan in his twenties, Chef Kogure began working at restaurants in New York, more often than not with Mexican cooks, from whom he developed his Spanish skills and eventually an unmistakable Mexican accent full of slang and chilango turns of phrase. 

Kogure then worked across Mexico at restaurants in Chihuahua, the Riviera Maya, and Mexico City, where he established a working relationship with famed Chef Issho Sonoda, who helped him further refine his skills. 

After being made a chef and consultant for Xcaret’s hotel restaurants, Kogure says he began to see the region’s potential, leading him to open restaurants in Cancún and Tulum, both of which became instant hits. Then he saw an opportunity to set up shop in Mérida’s La Plancha park. 

Considering that Kogure Express is squeezed within a refurbished mid-20th-century railcar, one may be justified in assuming that the food’s integrity might be compromised. One look at the kitchen at work dispels any such trepidation. Despite its relatively small size, Kogure and his executive chef, Diego Armando from Mexico City, pull off culinary miracles.  

Kogure Express, Parque La Plancha, on a pedestrian path near Calle 48 and 43. Open daily except Monday, 2-10 p.m. IG: @koguremerida

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