Josh Van Ryswyk A.K.A. Chef Yoshi

Recovering Restaurant Chef

Josh is a graduate of the Iowa Culinary Institute in Ankeny and completed an internship in Montbrison, France, where he studied under Chef Jean-Pierre Tholoniat (La Roseraie). He’s been fortunate to work with a number of James Beard award winning and nominated chefs, including Chef Michael Schwartz of Michael’s Genuine Food and Drink, Chef Rusty Hamlin, the personal Chef to the Zac Brown Band and finalist on The Food Networks Next Food Network Star, Chef David Baruthio of Baru 66, and Chef George Formaro of Centro, Django, Malo, and Zombie Burger. Josh has opened and ran several restaurants (Blue Tomato Kitchen, Magnolia Wine Kitchen, Blu Toro) in the Des Moines metro area.

Josh was adopted from Korea at 4-months-old and grew up in the Des Moines area and his siblings are TaiDam. Even though he grew up in a rural suburb he has always gravitated towards Asian food. After college when he moved to Los Angeles was when he found his real love for Pho. He lived in the San Gabriel Valley which is home to more Asians than most states. His favorite Pho spot was in an old strip mall in Chinatown near downtown LA. All the best places are hole in the wall restaurants. He would eat Pho several times a week for lunch or dinner and even occasionally for breakfast. Pro Tip: Mix the hoisin and Siracha on the side to dip your meat in for an extra burst of flavor.