Chef Ryan Ratino’s eyes light up whenever the conversation turns to Japan. “The country has been a huge inspiration to me since I first went in 2019,” he tells Observer. The all-American chef has now traveled to the Japanese islands nine times, racking up food experiences ranging from sampling wagyu on a rural Iwate ranch to slurping fresh-caught hoya (red sea pineapple) from a fishing boat off the coast of Ishinomaki. “Going to Japan once or twice a year helps me dial in my palate, such as for salt and broths and how the density affects seasoning,” Ratino says. “I learn about the different fish and produce that we can import, and how to impart those flavors into my cooking.”
At age 33, Ratino is one of the youngest chefs ever to preside over two Michelin-starred restaurants, both of which are located in Washington, D.C. Jônt has maintained two stars since 2021, while Bresca has been one-starred since 2019. His latest project—opening two new restaurants in Florida in 2024—might seem like an unexpected step for a chef with such accolades.
At the start of 2024, Ratino unveiled Maass at Four Seasons Hotel and Residences Fort Lauderdale, followed by Orlando’s Ômo by Jônt in March.
Ratino set his sights on the Sunshine State because he was eager to collaborate with up-and-coming chefs and be a part of what he views as a diverse and burgeoning culinary scene. “When the Michelin Guide came to Florida [in 2022], it opened up a lot of people’s eyes to the great dining that exists in places like Orlando and Fort Lauderdale, and not just Miami,” Ratino explains.
He also has a personal connection to the state. “I’m originally from Ohio and went to school at Le Cordon Bleu in Orlando,” he says. “I have family in the area and cooked at Florida restaurants for about five years, on and off.” Ratino remembers walking around Orlando’s Winter Park neighborhood and dreaming of having a restaurant there. “And now, full circle, I’ve been able to come back to the same area to open Ômo by Jônt,” he says.
The name is a love letter to omotenashi, or the Japanese dedication to craft and hospitality that impressed him on his travels in the country. Similar to D.C.’s Jônt, Ômo takes up to 16 guests on a culinary jaunt through three modern minimalist yet homey spaces. “You start in the living room with Krug champagne and canapes or snacks, where you eat with your hands and hang out for a little bit,” Ratino says. “Then you move to the savory counter, where we’re cooking over a small hearth.” The last stop is the pastry parlor for a carnival of sweets like kakigori, a milky shaved ice that rains from a crank machine and is served with seasonal nuts and kinako, or roasted soybean flour.
Although Ômo by Jônt serves luxurious set courses with precision, the vibe is anything but buttoned-up. The young chefs interact with diners while bobbing their heads to ‘90s hip-hop like Blackstreet’s “No Diggity,” House of Pain’s “Jump Around” and Salt-N-Pepa’s “Shoop.”
The soundtrack sets the tone for the first bites, which are playful spins on fine Japanese cooking. One of Ratino’s favorites is a sushi roll with citrus-cured shima aji and Fresno chili, topped with a flower of turmeric pickled kohlrabi and ginger, and wrapped in three sheets of fried nori for extra crunch. He describes it as his take on gas station sushi: a trashy road trip snack that gets yassified.
Ômo by Jônt departs from the chef’s previous ventures by merging Floridian and Japanese ingredients; for example, Key West pink shrimp with tomato, shiso, and a swirl of soba. Another standout is chawanmushi (steamed egg custard) with Florida sweet corn and white bean, topped with a spoon of high-grade Bafun uni from Hokkaido. “We put prime ingredients with beautiful sauces and that’s it,” Ratino says. “We’re not trying to mask the ingredients with too many accouterments or garnishes.” Or as his old-school hip-hop soundtrack puts it: “Whoomp! (There It Is).”
Ômo by Jônt’s tasting menu comes in three tiers, starting at $145 for “The Excursion”: four snacks, four courses, a plated dessert and a Magic Box with hidden compartments of sweets. The fattest stack is “The Jaunt,” a $395 three-hour sitting with ritzy additions like a slice of green Japanese crown melon. (Each fruit is grown on a single sapling to concentrate the flavor, wears a sunhat to keep its skin unblemished and is shipped on a bed of pillows). Add on the $595 “F*** It Pairing” for glasses of 1978 Bodegas Corral Rioja and IWA 5 sake, a junmai daiginjo made from three types of rice and five strains of yeast.
Ratino takes his reverence for Japan’s culinary arts in a different creative direction at Maass Fort Lauderdale. Located across the street from the beach, the sleek interiors are reminiscent of a yacht with touches of tropical modernism; a nod to Gustav Maass, the South Florida mid-century architect. Ratino describes the menu as wood-fired New American where “almost everything is touching a ten-foot open hearth.” Diners can order à la carte in the main room, or do the tasting at the 14-seat Chef’s Counter that gives a front-row view to the action.
The seven-course set with starters and sweets ($225 per person) is inspired by the sunny oceanfront setting. “We take coastal Florida ingredients like fluke and spiny lobsters, and prepare them in ways that make sense for 100-degree weather,” Ratino says. “Like cold prawns or cold stone crab, kissed over the live wood fire.” The soft Niigata koshiibuki rice, cooked in a kotobuki (clay donabe) with maitake (hen-of-the-woods) mushrooms, vin jaune and comté is a showstopper. The umami creaminess tends to have guests wanting más or “more” in Spanish, another meaning behind the name Maass.
Ratino’s seeming curveball into Florida has been a hit so far, praised for leveling up high-end dining in the state. Although the chef has his hands full managing and cooking at four restaurants, he always makes time to return to Japan. Ratino enthusiastically describes his upcoming plans to eat at Kikunoi Honten (one of Kyoto’s oldest kaiseki restaurants) and continue building personal relationships with suppliers of sea urchin, scallops and other products. “My team and I want to be the best cooks that we can possibly be,” he says. “So we’ll keep on going to Japan, learning, educating ourselves, and tasting, and tasting and tasting.”