Trained in a variety of kitchens since 2009, Akira decided to leap into the world of ramen with his latest venture, Magpie.
Portland,OR
The Beginning
Akira Okazaki started cooking around age seven, helping his mother and grandmother prepare Italian dinners. Freshness was never a missing component. He noticed a similarity in his fathers cooking as well. Consistency was big when his father would prepare Japanese food. It was young Akira who mixed the curry and washed the rice.
Portland,OR
Finding A Purpose
2009
Many years later, he staged and worked under a few chefs in Portland. This eventually included his favorite restaurant, Biwa. There, he fell in love with Izakaya food and eventually made his way from dishwasher to ramen cook. He took a particular interest in what he considered to be Japanese comfort dishes. His calling was starting to simmer.
Although he knew he had a passion for food, he decided to train to become a welder/fabricator and had a great job at Bridge City Steel where he enjoyed reading blue prints, keeping extremely tight tolerances, and always trying to provide the highest quality product. However, he found his favorite times were when he would bring food for his crew and see the smiles on their faces. This brought him a sense of purpose and happiness that he couldn’t find anywhere else, and that’s when he knew what he had to do.
Pendleton,OR
Working Towards His Goal
2019
Akira started planning and thinking of the best way he could achieve his goal and still have time for family. That’s when he and his wife, Jess Brandhagen, decided to move back to Pendleton to be closer to family.
After moving back Akira worked at Oregon Grain Growers Distillery as a pizza cook where Kelli and Rodney Bullington were constantly supportive in his aspirations and helped him gain more confidence in starting a business in Pendleton. He also worked at Schubert Diesel Service in parts where he was met with more local support and kindness by Kim and Mike Schubert while he planned, worked on recipes, and saved money for his first venture.
Along with the incredible support from his wife and her parents Brigette and Mike, he is also very thankful to have had the support from his parents Renee Caubisens and Richard “Dick” Keiser. None of this would have been possible without them.
Pendleton,OR
A New Challenge
2024
Serving people fresh food with a strong Japanese influence, Magpie was opened and he hasn’t looked back. As the stock rolls on through the day, he enjoys prepping new meals and is constantly looking for new and better ways to feed people delicious food. Although the space is small, and the supply is limited, his food packs a big punch through layers of flavor and true love of the kitchen. He looks to a few years from now, where he hopes to be able to open a brick and mortar where he can expand on his menu and provide a deeper experience. Until then, he’s having fun with his trailer and is thankful to Pendleton for being a great and supportive place to achieve his dreams.
