Uchi Founding Chef Tyson Cole was raised in Florida with typical suburban fare comprised mainly of spaghetti and sandwiches.  After heading to Texas for school and finding himself unable to pay for his classes at the University of Texas, Cole needed a job, and fast.  After days of pavement pounding, he finally ended up with a dishwashing job at downtown sushi spot, Kyoto.  He admits that before he took the job, he had never even tried sushi.  But once he did, he was hooked, and not just on sushi, but on Japanese culture and language.

Cole immersed himself in this new world behind the sushi bar, even surprising himself with his skill and dexterity with the knife.  He quickly worked his way from dishwasher to head sushi chef, eventually moving on to Austin's top sushi restaurant at the time, Musashino. Cole completed an intensive traditional apprenticeship under owner, Takehiko Fuse who took him to Japan, where Cole experienced the culture firsthand, while gaining technical skill and intimate knowledge of the ingredients.

Fuse challenged him to learn the Japanese language which, in turn, gave Cole greater insight into guiding the guest experience. Staging at restaurants like Manhattan’s Bond Street exposed him to the intensity of running a busy restaurant with razor sharp execution.  in 2002 he returned to Austin for another year at Musashino, experimenting with fresh flavor combinations and ingredients, often running the restaurant in Fuse's absence.

In May of 2003, Uchi opened with Cole as Executive Chef and co-owner. Cole's seamless blending of global ingredients with traditional Japanese flavors to create his celebrated “perfect bite” gained him local, regional and national attention and Uchi soon became one of the top fine dining destinations in Austin. The accolades continued when he was awarded a coveted spot on Food & Wine Magazine's “Best Chefs” of 2005 list. In May 2011, Cole received a James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef: Southwest.  Cole celebrated a James Beard Foundation Semi-Finalist nod for Outstanding Chef in 2016.

"Ingredients and flavors from all over the world are easily accessible now," Cole says. "The food we create is playfully multi-cultural, combining Japanese traditions with unexpected ingredients."

In 2010, Cole opened his second concept in Austin, Uchiko, and celebrated the release of Uchi the Cookbook in 2011.  Inspired by his recent travels back to Japan, Chef Cole then opened the Izakaya-inspired concept Uchibā upstairs from Uchi Dallas in 2018, the same year he launched his more casual concept LORO Asian Smokehouse & Bar, in Austin. Hai now has concepts in Austin, Houston, Dallas, Denver, Miami, West Hollywood and Scottsdale with more on the horizon.  While awards and accolades have accumulated through the years, he relishes deflecting praise in the direction of his talented team, some of whom have been with Uchi since the beginning. “There is no Uchi, no Hai Hospitality in fact, without this team. Their talent and ideas have made this collaboration that is Hai Hospitality so successful,” offers Cole.  As Hai Hospitality grows, he relishes in the talented team that has made it all possible and remains grateful that his detour into Kyoto to wash dishes led him down this extraordinary path. One which inevitably leads to the perfect bite.

PARTICIPATING EVENTS:

Opening Night Reception