Chef Lenny Lin's love for food began early on. Growing up surrounded
by water & seafood as an main source of protein gave Lin an undeniable
desire for fresh ingredients.
In early 2000s, Lin decided to pursue an career as an sushi chef. He
first landed a job as a helper in a mom & pop type of sushi establishment
in upper west side of New York City. From there on, he studied and
trained rigorously to hone his knife skills. An year later, he moved on to
another Japanese establishment called Roppongi in the suburb of New
York, it is here where he was given the opportunity to expand his
knowledge. Within the next few years, Lin was able to move up to an
sushi chef position.
It wasn't until 2009 when he decided to relocated and seek an position in
New York City to better hone his skills on Japanese cuisine. Lin landed
an chef position behind the sushi bar in the well- known establishment,
Blue Ribbon Sushi in Manhattan. In the next 4 years, Lenny developed into reputable chef within the establishment.
After an unexpected dinning experience at an upscale contemporary Japanese restaurant known as 15 East, Lenny
fell in love with the world of omakase dining. In early 2014, he decided to pursue a position at that very restaurant.
It is here at 15 East where Lenny met his now partner & good friend Ryan Lin. Coincidentally, they were both known as
Chef Lin. With much similar love for Japanese cuisine, the Lins decided they would open their own restaurant. Three year later with careful planning and timing, in October of 2017, Sushi Lin was opened.
Chef Ryan Lin always had an love & interest for Japanese culture.
Introduced by a friend, Ryan secured an internship in a popular Japanese
restaurant known as Haru. After few years, he decided he would seek out
an career in making sushi.
In 2012, Ryan landed a sushi chef position in an upscale Japanese seafood
establishment, Catch. It is here at Catch where Ryan's interested for
contemporary Japanese cuisine grew. Within the next few years, he studied
at the stable of Japanese contemporary cuisine, Neta and soon followed
to 15 East in Manhattan til 2016. During that time, Ryan appreciation for
Japanese culture grew especially the art of Japanese chef knives.
In the mid of 2016, Ryan left 15 East to pursue his interest in Japanese chef
knives. It was by chance during that time, an Japanese culinary knife store
opened in his neighborhood of Brooklyn known as Yanagi Knife. He
immediately seeked an position. Within the next year, Ryan would hone his
knowledge in the art of Japanese knives. It was also by chance at Yanagi Knife, Ryan met an customer & sushi chef from Chicago, Chef Mark. After much communication & interest, Ryan was brought back into the world of Japanese omakase dining.
Chef Ryan Lin was offered an sushi chef position and a right hand man to Chef Mark. Ryan trained rigorously under the head chef at Gaijin which was named of the of Best Omakase Restaurant of New York in 2017 by Thrillist.
With offer from his good friend Lenny Lin & blessing from Chef Mark, Ryan & Lenny decides to open Sushi Lin as partners in late 2017.