Elio Orsara was born on October 25, 1966, in the picturesque town of Cetraro in the region of Calabria on the southern tip of the Italian peninsula. 
As a teenager Elio first worked in Calabria’s 5-star Grand Hotel San Michele. He acquired further training in Milan and London. It was right after opening his first restaurant in Spain that Elio dreamed the “American Dream”. To get to America, he joined the Princess Cruise ship “The Love Boat”, learning all he could about cuisine and management. Ever hungry for greater knowledge and experience, Elio jumped ship and worked his way around a number of Italian restaurants in Los Angeles. None provided the kind of atmosphere or challenge that he sought. Always looking for new opportunities, he took an high end golf club in northern Italy. So once again back on home soil, in the premier golf club: La forza del destino – the power of fate! He met a golf-loving Japanese at the club, who turned out to be an influential member of Japan’s Daiei, a company involved in supermarkets, hotels and restaurants... and the rest is history. Off to Japan.

Elio Orsara began his love affair with Japan as a supervisor in an Italian restaurant at the New Kobe Oriental Hotel. His adventurous spirit helped him overcome the language and cultural barriers. Whenever he had some time off work, he immersed himself in traditional Japanese culture. He visited the ancient city of Kyoto. The experience was overwhelming and it proved to be a turning point in his young adult life. The quiet bowing, the warm and beautiful smile, the graceful movements. Even if he didn’t understand the language, Elio was completely awed by Japanese hospitality and sense of service. This engendered in him more curiosity about Japan, and he soon found himself supervising two restaurants managed by the Daiei Group. Finally, destiny took him to Tokyo. He worked in Kojimachi where he began developing a core group of highly valued, extremely loyal customers, many of whom also became dear friends.