When Wei Chen walked away from his post at one of New York’s most prestigious sushi counters, he wasn’t sure what would come next. Seven years at the famed Sushi Nakazawa (inclusive of opening an outpost in Aspen) had honed his knife skills and discipline, but Los Angeles, where he moved to raise his newborn son, offered few restaurant roles that matched his ambitions. So Chen pivoted into private chef work, lucrative yes, but, as he describes it, “I had to follow my aspirations.”
“I didn’t work all these years at all these restaurants just to disappear into the private world,” Chen recalls. “Outside of your clients, nobody knows you exist.” This is the realization that sparked a bold experiment: to step out from behind the shadow of the omakase bar and solve for how to put the spotlight on himself, his brand and his craft.
A Discipline Forged in Kitchens
Chen’s culinary path began early. At 17, he started working under his uncle in New York’s restaurant scene, learning not just how to cook, but how to show up with rigor. After a study-abroad trip to Italy ignited a deeper passion for food, Chen dropped out of college and talked his way into a job at NYC’s Neta, a downtown sushi restaurant founded by two disciples of famed three-michelin starred, Masa. “I had no business applying there,” he laughs. “But I told the chef, give me one week. If I don’t prove myself, fire me.” He stayed, and made his way through the city’s elite sushi circuit including Shuko and 15 East before landing at Nakazawa.
Those years instilled both structure, precision, perseverance as well as adaptation and evolution. All qualities that would later fuel his embrace of brand building and social media.
Turning the Camera On
In late 2024, Chen hired a content strategist and launched an Instagram-focused social strategy. The goal was modest: to reach 5,000 followers by summer. At the time, he had fewer than 1,000.
Instead, one reel changed everything. In it, Chen narrated his personal story—his struggles, sacrifices, and pursuit of sushi mastery. That single post netted 60,000 followers almost overnight.
“I never wanted to do voiceovers,” Chen admits. “But my content strategist said, people want to hear your voice, they want a story. And he was right. That’s when it all clicked.”
Today, with 315,000 followers his page blends cinematic knife work, tight overhead shots, and voiceovers that decode technique in approachable language. It’s equal parts training video, confessional, and art film all at once. He releases new content every three days, shooting 10 reels per session and remixing them into multiple formats. The consistency, he says, is “fuel for the algorithm.”
Strategy Behind the Sushi
Chen’s feed is not accidental. He deliberately avoided the tropes he dislikes in food media—overwrought slow-motion sauce pours and generic background tracks. Instead, he pairs meticulous knife skills with Motown and hip-hop, creating a visual language that feels both refined and cool.
Early on, he leveraged Instagram’s “trial reels” feature to expose his videos to non-followers. The tactic drove rapid growth and helped him identify which formats resonated. “If something flopped twice, we didn’t try it a third time,” he explains. “We evolved quickly.”
By summer 2025, Chen had amassed over 190,000 followers, growing at a pace of 1,000–1,500 new fans per day.
From Reels to Residencies
The audience translated into opportunity. Hotels took notice, beginning with the Peninsula Beverly Hills, then Montage Big Sky, and more luxury properties nationwide. His residencies equate to multi-week stints curating high-end omakase for guests positioned him not just as a chef, but as a brand partner.
“Hotels with 40,000 followers look at my audience and realize, ‘he brings us reach we can’t buy,’” Chen says. Collaborations routinely outperform the properties’ own posts by tenfold. At Montage Big Sky, a joint post drew nearly 90,000 views compared to the few hundred typical for the hotel’s feed.
Private clients still reach out, but Chen prioritizes these residencies. “Private dinners pay well, but they’re short-term. Residencies build long-term relationships and brand equity.”
The Long Game
Looking ahead, Chen is thinking bigger. Everything from YouTube expansion, to product collaborations, and even packaged goods are on the horizon. From packaged goods and sake brands to knife brands courting him for partnerships – its all on the table. For now, he’s focused on consistency: “Every person I bring into the brand has to represent exactly what I want it to stand for.”
Chen is also mindful of accessibility. Though his residencies cater to a luxury clientele, Chen sees younger chefs as his most meaningful audience. “When they message me saying, you inspire me to work harder, it reminds me why I do this.”
Even industry legends have taken note. When Alton Brown followed his account, Chen was floored. “I grew up watching him geek out on Food Network. For him to recognize me? Unreal.”
The Final Cut
Wei Chen’s rise underscores a simple truth: social media is no longer about going viral. It’s about storytelling, discipline, and knowing when to double down. His advice for other chefs and entrepreneurs:
- Lead with authenticity. Share not just the food or end result, but the story behind it.
- Invest in quality. From videographers to editing, production value pays off.
- Be consistent. Posting every three days became non-negotiable.
- Test, learn, adapt. Scrap what doesn’t resonate and refine what does.
- Think long-term. Prioritize opportunities that build brand equity over quick wins.
From his uncle’s restaurant to a myriad of luxury hotel residences, Chen’s journey shows how a sushi knife and a smartphone can carve out more than incredible meals, but a career built on perseverance and integrity. What began as a modest goal of 5,000 followers has become a platform with nearly 315,000, endless potential, and a blueprint for chefs everywhere.
“Life is tough,” Chen says. “But people love a comeback story. Social media gave me the chance to tell mine.”