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Ramen wasn鈥檛 Ivan Orkin鈥檚 calling. At first.

In 2006, Orkin (Jpn'87) was living in Tokyo with his family, jobless and restless. The U.S.-trained chef tried for three years to fit in with the Japanese culture he adored, but struggled to find his place in Japan as a Jewish Long Islander.

鈥淚 felt quite hopeless,鈥� said Orkin, who had worked at top New York restaurants, including Lut猫ce. 鈥淚 felt like I was never going to find my way.鈥�

His wife, Mari, a native Japanese, suggested he open a ramen shop.

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 have a clue how ramen was made,鈥� said Orkin.

But ignorance was no obstacle.

Orkin developed a unique twist on traditional ramen 鈥� thin noodles served in a piping-hot meat or seafood broth, sometimes with other toppings 鈥� a hugely popular dish in Japanese cuisine. Tokyo alone has thousands of ramen shops.

Located in Tokyo鈥檚 western suburbs, Orkin鈥檚 10-seat restaurant, Ivan Ramen, drew media and locals who were curious to sample an American chef鈥檚 take on ramen. Orkin offered homemade noodles (rare in Japanese ramen), aromatic flavors, few (but choice) toppings and light double-broth bases made with chicken and pork. Obscure-to-Japan ingredients like roasted tomatoes and rye flour added to the soup鈥檚 appeal.

In a glowing 2009 review titled 鈥淚van Ramen: Artisan ramen with NY accent,鈥澨�The Japan Times wrote: 鈥淵ou will not taste anything like this anywhere else in Japan.鈥�

Acclaimed Japanese ramen critic Hiroshi Osaki 鈥� who claims to have eaten more than 23,000 bowls of ramen 鈥� called Orkin鈥檚 ramen 鈥渁mazing鈥� and 鈥渄elicious.鈥�

Success in Japan has since led to two other ramen restaurants and a pizza restaurant in New York, a Netflix documentary and a new life back in the United States.

As The New York Times put it in 2013, 鈥淚van Orkin appears to have pulled off a chain of unprecedented feats.鈥�

A Love for Japan

Orkin鈥檚 infatuation with Japan began when he was 15 years old and worked as a dishwasher in a sushi bar in Syosset, New York. He reveled in trying new dishes, which were radically different from the frozen meals he ate, and hated, at home.

When it came time for college, he chose 精品SM在线影片, which offered both a dramatic mountain escape from New York and a Japanese studies program.

At CU, academics weren鈥檛 really Orkin鈥檚 thing 鈥� 鈥淚 would make breakfast for my friends and they would do my homework,鈥� he said 鈥� but he enjoyed the Japanese program.

鈥淚t鈥檚 one of my great memories of college,鈥� said Orkin. 鈥淚 learned just enough about Japanese grammar.鈥�

After graduating, he moved to Japan and taught English for three years, a job he found unoriginal and uninspiring. He met his soon-to-be first wife, Tamie, and the couple moved back to the U.S., where Orkin studied at the Culinary Institute of America in New York. There he met his eventual business partner, David Poran.

鈥淗e was like Woody Allen on 12 cups of coffee,鈥� Poran said of the young Orkin.

Afterward, Orkin worked under Bobby Flay at Mesa Grill and at Lut猫ce in New York. When Tamie became pregnant with their son Isaac Orkin听(Jpn鈥�19), he accepted a more stable, higher-paying job with Restaurant Associates, a New York-based hospitality company.

In 1998, when Isaac was two and Tamie was pregnant with the couple鈥檚 second child, she died of a sudden illness. Devastated and eager for his son to remain rooted in his mother鈥檚 Japanese culture, Orkin began taking him on annual trips听 to Tokyo. On one of these trips, in 2002, he met Mari over a bowl of ramen, and married her three months later. The couple settled in Tokyo, and Orkin began feeling his way into the future.

After Ivan Ramen took off in 2007, Orkin added a second restaurant in Japan and created a popular line of instant ramen.

鈥淚van鈥檚 very analytical, he鈥檚 extremely intelligent and he鈥檚 slightly OCD,鈥� partner Poran said. 鈥淚 think that鈥檚 a combination for success.鈥�

By 2012, ready to return to the U.S., Orkin and Mari moved their three sons to New York. He opened Ivan Ramen Slurp Shop in the Hell鈥檚 Kitchen neighborhood and his flagship restaurant Ivan Ramen in the Lower East Side. They, too, were instant hits. The New York Times refers to him as 鈥渁n American ramen master.鈥�

These days, he stays out of the kitchen. Mostly.

鈥淚 still work on recipes, I still train people, but I don鈥檛 have a spot in my restaurant,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut when there is something for me to do, I鈥檓 there all day and all night.鈥�

A Call from Chef鈥檚 Table

Last year, the crew behind Netflix鈥檚 Chef鈥檚 Table, a documentary series profiling renowned chefs, came calling.

鈥淣etflix was the first time I ever really allowed a television camera to see my life that closely,鈥� he said, adding he filmed five days in New York and five days in Tokyo. 鈥淚t was hard telling everybody your innermost secrets.鈥�

After the episode aired in February 2017, Orkin鈥檚 name, and food, grew more famous still.

鈥淚t鈥檚 completely been one of the most wonderful things that鈥檚 ever happened to me,鈥� he said.

These days, Orkin, who lives in the Hudson River Valley north of New York, is exploring potential new ramen restaurant locations elsewhere in the U.S. Meanwhile, he鈥檚 also dabbling in the pizza world. He and Poran opened Corner Slice inside the Gotham West Market to rave reviews.

鈥淭he pizza business is a big deal for us,鈥� said Poran. 鈥淲e have big expansion plans.鈥�

There鈥檚 never really any telling what鈥檚 next for Orkin.

鈥淚f there鈥檚 anything I鈥檝e learned in this life," he said, "it's when I get tired of doing something, I鈥檒l just do something else.鈥�
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Photos by Daniel Krieger