Twisted Path Hosting High-End Sushi Pop-Up
The chef behind Home-Omakase by DAG will prepare 13-course dinners.
Omakase courses. Photo courtesy of Worawit Boonyapituksakul.
Worawit Boonyapituksakul is many things: a father, a chef, a graphic designer and — perhaps most importantly — an artist.
His discipline lies in creating. His medium? It’s sushi.
Born and raised in Thailand, Boonyapituksakul graduated with a degree in art and worked as a graphic designer before moving to the United States, where the pursuit of good sushi — and a desire to master its preparation — led him from Chicago to New York City.
He later settled in Milwaukee and launched his own culinary business, Home-Omakase by DAG. As its name suggests, the mobile concept sets up shop in diners’ homes, offering an ultra-personalized and intimate experience.
And though he’s typically a private chef, Boonyapituksakul is partnering with Twisted Path Distillery to offer a series of omakase, or chef’s choice, dinners throughout the coming months.
The 13-course experience is meant to showcase an advanced form of sushi-making, pairing fresh and seasonal ingredients with impeccably-prepared fish.
The term omakase translates to “I leave it up to you,” in Japanese, symbolizing a surrender to the chef’s expertise. Each course in omakase dining is small — typically just one bite — and meant to be consumed immediately.
“It’s not just food, it’s art,” said Boonyapituksakul, who trained under the world’s best at top Chicago restaurants and earned his chops at Masaharu Morimoto‘s eponymous NYC eatery. “Sushi looks easy to make, but there are actually a lot of details. It requires technique and patience.”
Like many in the industry, Boonyapituksakul comes from humble beginnings. “Starting over [in America] was not easy for me,” he said. “I had to adapt a lot.”
When he arrived in Chicago, Boonyapituksakul began working at a Thai restaurant, where he leveraged his design skills to create a website for the business in exchange for instruction on how to prepare sushi.
“At that time, I was just interested in making sushi because I believed it would make me more money,” he said. “But after experiencing it up close, doing it and learning various techniques, I started to take a serious interest in it. I fell in love with it.”
After seven years, Boonyapituksakul relocated to New York City, where he continued to develop his skills, studying under “famous and talented” Japanese chefs — not the least of which was Morimoto, a world-renowned chef and restaurateur best known for his appearances on Food Network’s “Iron Chef America.”
“It opened up a new world for me,” Boonyapituksakul said of Morimoto’s restaurant at Chelsea Market, which closed in 2020. “I wanted to work with talented people, but it took a long time to adjust and develop myself in order to be accepted. I had to work harder than anyone else.”
Though the experience was demanding, it exposed Boonyapituksakul to a number of inspirational chefs. “That was a very good experience,” he said. “For me, it’s a good memory in my life.”
Boonyapituksakul returned to the Midwest several years ago to begin pursuing his own business. In the meantime, he got married and had children; his family resides in Janesville.
In getting to know Milwaukee, Boonyapituksakul said he noticed a handful of sushi restaurants throughout the city, none of which offered omakase dining. So opted to do it himself.
“I started studying and went to learn about omakase in Chicago,” said Boonyapituksakul, who later hosted his first dinner in his own home kitchen.
Little by little, he adjusted the concept and tweaked the menu, accepting feedback from friends and acquaintances who later became customers and clients. Somewhere along the way, Home-Omakase by DAG was born.
On his first visit to Twisted Path, 2018 S. 1st St., Boonyapituksakul knew it was the perfect home for his omakase. “I fell in love,” he said. “It’s like the picture I had in my head.
Along with its coffee-colored walls, moody lighting and vine-covered back bar, the distillery already modeled the omakase spirit, encouraging patrons to sip and savor its handcrafted spirits.
Boonyapituksakul hosted the first pop-up earlier this year, and is looking forward to more in the near future.
Guests can expect more than a full stomach; the experience will give them a deeper knowledge of sushi and the work that goes into the deceptively simple dish. They’ll also have a chance to interact directly with Boonyapituksakul and observe his talents firsthand.
Twisted Path will also offer a selection of cocktail pairings made with its own spirits.
For his part, the chef said he’s excited to flex his creativity in creating meals that highlight the “freshest and highest quality ingredients available.”
“Each chef’s menu requires techniques and knowledge in order to make each bite of sushi as perfect as possible,” he said. “I like seeing customers happy when they eat my food.”
Upcoming pop-ups will be held on April 10, 11, 17, 18, 24 and 25. All seatings are sold out. Future dates will be announced on the chef’s Instagram page and website. Tickets are $119 each and sell quickly.
Alongside the pop-ups, Boonyapituksakul is still offering in-home dinners for clients. Inquiries can be submitted online.
At this time, Boonyapituksakul doesn’t have any plans for a permanent restaurant space. But he has big dreams for the future.
“One day I might have a small, mysterious omakase bar hidden in a basement somewhere,” he said. “There would be six seats in front of the bar, decorated in my own style, and I would have regular customers who really like my food.”
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