Ivan Orkin talks Japanese noodles, restaurant culture in London and the challenge of serving great ramen every day.
For decades, ramen was largely seen in Britain as a quick, inexpensive meal – a steaming bowl to grab on a cold day more than anything else. That perception has changed dramatically in recent years, thanks in no small part to chefs like Ivan Orkin.
Long before queues formed outside London’s most sought-after noodle bars, Orkin was making waves in Japan itself. In 2007, the New Yorker opened a tiny ramen shop in Tokyo, becoming one of the few foreigners to earn the respect of Japan’s notoriously exacting ramen community. What followed was a culinary success story that has not only spanned continents but also made it onto Netflix’s Chef’s Table.
Now, as London’s appetite for regional Japanese cuisine continues to grow, Orkin reflects on his decades-long obsession with noodles, the evolution of ramen culture and what separates a good bowl from a great one. We spoke to the chef about opening restaurants, breaking culinary rules and why, despite all the trends and hype, ramen remains a personal craft.
Ramen is really having a moment right now – why do you think this is?
I was gonna ask you! Oh, I don’t know. I’m not from here, but I opened in London because I really liked the city and, I mean, you definitely do have a really vibrant ramen feed.
There’s lots and lots of little shops and then there’s also lots of chains. I think the ramen seems pretty happening.
What got you into the ramen business?
I was living in Japan and I was looking for a job, a project… So after a lot of reflection, my wife and I decided to open a ramen shop – and we never looked back! I didn’t work in one before; I never really trained with anybody or have anyone to show me the ropes…I just sort of ate a lot of ramen and kind of made it a passion project.
Going to the ramen shops myself, getting a bowl and watching the chefs make it was pretty fascinating to me and I always wanted to know more. Ultimately, it’s not an expensive type of restaurant to open, either – you just need a counter, a couple of burners – to be honest, almost the more simple and stripped back, the better. I didn’t have a ton of money or a ton of space, so it was just something I think was approachable for me.
Was competition a concern of yours at all when you were opening up shop here?
It’s a good time. It’s a competitive time. You’re just gonna do it anyway because competition’s great. The more shops, the better. I think I’m very confident and think we can hold our own. I think ours is really good, but the fun thing about ramen is because of the fan base, you don’t only go to one place.
Each place does lots of different styles, and you may go to one place because they have a particularly thick noodle while another place has a really rich broth, and another place does a dipping style – so you don’t need to only go to one shop. It’s a really nice job, amazing.
And what is kind of the reason people should go to your ramen spot?
I think we do a great job with everything we offer. Our our vegetarian ramen is just out of sight, our paitan ramen is very unique and delicious; it’s so creamy and rich. All of our ramen is fully flavoured and intense, and yet not that heavy. I also don’t think anybody serves the noodles like ours.
I like to call ramen the uber comfort food – it’s so comforting and cosy and you feel so good after you eat it.
Before you opened up your own place, where was your go-to spot in London?
I don’t have one! I usually just make it myself. Or a lot of the time when I want or crave ramen, I go to my mom’s shop. When I’m in Japan, which is a lot, I usually grab a bowl or two when I’m there as well.
Any other London favourites to visit?
I used to go to Lyles a lot before it closed; I’m always at St. John’s… There’s a lot of great Thai spots opening up, too.
Ramen seems such a simple dish – but what is the complexity behind it?
If you’re a ramen shop that makes everything from scratch, the soup can take anywhere from six to 40 hours, depending on which broth you’ve gone for, whether you’re making your own noodles, etc. The making of the chashu (slow braised pork belly) can also take anywhere from three to eight hours, and there’s so many different ways to make the flavouring sauce; different toppings; whether you cook eggs or not, etc. So everything has many steps to it and it’s a real labour of love. A harmony, balancing everything.
So if someone’s gonna cook, if they were gonna make their own ramen, what is the thing that they have to perfect?
It depends, I mean, obviously, if you want a perfectly-made bowl of ramen then, yes, you need to either follow a recipe with a really good broth, use fresh noodles, etc. But I also think that you don’t always have to take it that seriously: you can buy your meat from the butcher or you can use your leftover duck or pork from Chinatown or a poached chicken that you had leftover. I think it sort of depends how deep your commitment level, making a real bowl of ramen from start to finish…it takes a whole day.
Are there any non-traditional ingredients that you particularly love to work with?
I work with non-traditional because one consistent thing for me is I use Japanese ingredients and Japanese flavours. So you really are not gonna see a coconut or lemongrass or lime or you know, or things like that…maybe the most untraditional thing is going spicy?
Do you think the current ramen boom has improved or diluted standards?
I think it’s great! I think that the reason people like ramen so much is the allure of the broth. It’s really hard and takes a lot of time, but if you’re interested in crafting ramen, then it’s a really fun rabbit hole to go down. That’s the beautiful thing about ramen: there’s no right way; you can put your special twist on it – and then you can curate the atmosphere, the design of your shop and really give it its own personality.
We keep things low-key and classy, but I guess viral food trends were called a ‘fad food’ in my day. There’s always going to be some sort of ‘badge’, right? I guess, before it was all through word of mouth, but nowadays it’s TikTok and Instagram – sometimes there’s a good reason for it, right?
Sometimes I’ll look on Instagram and see something and think “Oh my god!”, and my 17-year-old will tell me: “Dad, that’s been around forever!”
Would you ever do collaborations in the future to kind of take it a bit off piste?
If I’m cooking and collaborating with a chef and there’s something that he or she wants to do that I don’t normally do, that’d be fine with me. I’ve done collabs with American Italian chefs, etc… I did a collab with a friend. He used to have a very popular restaurant in Manhattan, and he was just a master at meats. We did a slow-cooked duck that was just so good, and we made it duck broth with all the bones.
So he made this smoky duck with the leg and the breast piled on top and it was great – it was just so ducky. It was really, really fun: he was Italian, like Italian-Californian, and my [culinary] background was Japan – but together, it came out really, really great.
Get your ramen fix: ivanramen.co.uk
