Exclusive: Join Chefs Kent Rigsby and Manny Castillo for a Nikkei-Style Dinner

We're giving paid subscribers to The Columbus Foodletter the first opportunity to buy tickets for this special dinner before it goes on sale to the public.

Oct 21, 2024

From Chef Kent Rigsby:

“When people used to ask me what my favorite restaurant in Columbus was, I answered without hesitation, Kihachi. In the two years since my retirement from The New Albany Country Club, I’ve done a deep dive into various Japanese cookbooks and experimented with cooking Japanese cuisine at home.

I first met Manny Castillo while having dinner at a bar in downtown Columbus. (Manny surmised I must have been in the restaurant business after I ordered a shot of Fernet Branca after dinner).

Manny’s family emigrated from the Philippines when Manny was a child. He grew up in Columbus and graduated from OSU with a degree in finance. While working in LA, he caught the ‘restaurant bug,’ enrolled in cooking school, and began to dream of a life as a restaurateur.

Manny worked as a line cook, prep cook, short order cook, catering chef and wine rep.
In 2009 Michael Cardenas, (founder of Sushi Roku), chef Josef Centano and Manny Castillo opened the Lazy Ox Canteen in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles. Manny was director of operations and managing partner.

Manny moved back to Columbus in late 2018 to help with a personal family crisis. He was so impressed with the growth and energy of Columbus he decided to make it his home and began to have visions of having his own restaurant one day. Manny has worked at Colo Seafood, Chapman’s Eat Market, Little West Tavern and Cobra.

Manny and I decided to team up for a 5-course dinner on Friday, Nov. 15, featuring a menu inspired by Nikkei cooking, something that would be new and exciting for the Columbus public.”