Leonard Yu

Chef Leonard began his journey by enrolling in culinary school in Indonesia shortly after finishing high school. Leonard sharpened his skills by working in five star, fine dining hotels in Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia.

 

In 2010 he moved to New Jersey with his wife, where he began working in Japanese restaurants. He realized Japanese food, especially sushi, is starkly different from western fare, with its alluring focus on minimalism, balance, and passion. With a new challenge ahead of him, Leonard started from zero again, determined to master the long-standing Japanese culinary art. Leonard learned everything from sharping Japanese knives, to washing and cooking rice using a donabe (Japanese clay pot), but he never worked under the apprenticeship of a master. He always considered himself a self-taught sushi chef, learning everything from traditional to fusion. 

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In 2017, Leonard and his wife moved to Atlanta, GA, where they started a family. In Atlanta, he broke ground working in various Japanese kitchens, until he settled at Brush Sushi Izakaya.