Ivan Orkin is the American chef, ramen-shop owner and author widely considered the most influential non-Japanese ramen chef globally. Born 8 March 1963 in Syosset, Long Island, New York, to a Jewish-American family, Orkin fell in love with Japanese food as a teenager working at a Japanese restaurant in Long Island. He moved to Japan in 1987 at age 24 after graduating from the University of Colorado, taught English through the 1990s, and in 2007 opened Ivan Ramen in the Rokakoen neighborhood of Tokyo, becoming one of the first non-Japanese chefs to operate a successful ramen shop in Japan.
Orkin opened the first Ivan Ramen in New York in 2013 and later added a second New York location. In April 2026 Ivan Ramen opened its first London location, described by SPHERE Magazine as the city’s latest ramen destination. He was featured on a 6 December 2025 CBS Mornings segment and a November 2025 Conde Nast Traveller piece about the return of his New York ramen shops. At 63 years old, Orkin continues to lead the Ivan Ramen brand across New York, Tokyo and now London, cementing his position as the defining American ramen chef of the 2000s, 2010s and 2020s.
TL;DR
- American chef born 8 March 1963 in Syosset, Long Island, New York, to a Jewish-American family
- Moved to Japan in 1987 at age 24; taught English through the 1990s
- Opened first Ivan Ramen in Rokakoen, Tokyo, in 2007 (first non-Japanese chef with successful Tokyo ramen shop)
- Opened Ivan Ramen in Lower East Side New York in 2013; Slurp Shop Gotham West Market in 2013
- April 2026: Ivan Ramen London opens
- Author of Ivan Ramen: Love, Obsession, and Recipes from Tokyo’s Most Unlikely Noodle Joint (2013)
Ivan Orkin key facts
| Born | 8 March 1963, Syosset, Long Island, New York, USA (Jewish-American family) |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | University of Colorado Boulder; self-taught in Japanese language and ramen technique |
| Flagship restaurants | Ivan Ramen New York (Lower East Side, opened 2013); Ivan Ramen Tokyo (opened 2007; closed 2015); Ivan Ramen London (opened April 2026) |
| Book | Ivan Ramen: Love, Obsession, and Recipes from Tokyos Most Unlikely Noodle Joint (2013) |
| Television | Mind of a Chef Season 4 (PBS, 2015); Chefs Table Season 6 (Netflix, 2018); CBS Mornings (December 2025) |
| 2026 | Ivan Ramen London opens April 2026; New York locations continue operating |
Early life and training of Ivan Orkin
Orkin was born on 8 March 1963 in Syosset, a middle-class suburb on Long Island, New York, into a Jewish-American family. His early culinary memories centre on Jewish-American Long Island food, but the decisive cultural encounter came in his teenage years when he took a dishwashing job at a Japanese restaurant in Great Neck on Long Island. The Japanese kitchen staff introduced the teenage Orkin to Japanese food, Japanese language, and Japanese cultural practices in a way that would shape his entire subsequent life, and by the late 1970s he had decided to pursue Japan seriously.
Orkin enrolled at the University of Colorado Boulder and majored in Japanese language and literature, a deliberate choice that reflected his teenage decision to build a career connected to Japan. After graduating in the mid-1980s he spent a period at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, and took various restaurant jobs in New York City. In 1987 at age 24 he moved to Japan for the first time, settling in Tokyo and teaching English as his day job through the late 1980s and 1990s.
Orkin married a Japanese woman in the 1990s and they lived between Tokyo and New York in the following years. After the death of his first wife, and following a second marriage and a return period in New York where he worked at Lutece and various fine-dining kitchens, he returned to Tokyo with his second wife Mari in the early 2000s. In 2007 at age 44 he opened the first Ivan Ramen in the Rokakoen neighborhood of western Tokyo, a 10-seat ramen shop that he had spent more than a year developing. Within months it was drawing Japanese media attention as one of the first non-Japanese-owned ramen shops in Tokyo to earn serious critical reception.
Ivan Orkin career timeline
- 8 March 1963: Born in Syosset, Long Island, New York
- Late 1970s: Takes dishwashing job at Japanese restaurant in Great Neck, Long Island
- Early 1980s: Studies Japanese language and literature at University of Colorado Boulder
- Mid-1980s: Attends Culinary Institute of America Hyde Park; works in New York restaurants
- 1987: First move to Japan at age 24; teaches English in Tokyo
- Early 1990s: Marries first wife (Japanese); lives between Tokyo and New York
- Late 1990s: Death of first wife; returns to New York; works at Lutece and other New York restaurants
- 2003: Returns to Tokyo with second wife Mari
- 2007: Opens first Ivan Ramen in Rokakoen, western Tokyo (10-seat ramen shop)
- 2010: Opens second Tokyo Ivan Ramen location (Ivan Ramen Plus) in Shinjuku
- 2013: Opens Ivan Ramen Slurp Shop at Gotham West Market in New York
- 2013: Opens Ivan Ramen flagship in Lower East Side, New York
- 2013: Publishes Ivan Ramen: Love, Obsession, and Recipes from Tokyos Most Unlikely Noodle Joint
- 2015: Closes both Tokyo Ivan Ramen locations to focus on the New York operation
- 2015: Features on PBS Mind of a Chef Season 4
- 2018: Features on Netflix Chefs Table Season 6
- 2022: Continues leading Ivan Ramen Lower East Side and Slurp Shop
- November 2025: Conde Nast Traveller feature on the New York Ivan Ramen shops
- 6 December 2025: CBS Mornings feature on Orkin and Ivan Ramen
- April 2026: Ivan Ramen London opens (first European location)
- 2026: Ivan Ramen operates in New York (Lower East Side) and London; Slurp Shop continues
Ivan Orkin signature style: Japanese ramen technique with American detail
Orkins central argument, developed at the 2007 Rokakoen shop and refined across the 2013-onwards New York operation, is that ramen as a discipline is welcoming to non-Japanese practitioners who commit to the technical discipline fully. The Ivan Ramen approach emphasises three technical pillars specifically. The shio (salt) ramen with a dashi-based light broth is a signature that stands apart from the typical Tokyo shoyu/miso/tonkotsu categories. The noodle is made in-house daily from a proprietary flour blend, a level of noodle craft unusual among non-Japanese ramen shops. The toppings combine traditional Japanese elements with what Orkin has described as American sensibilities around portion, texture and composition.
The second defining element is the documented narrative of a non-Japanese chef building a ramen shop in Tokyo. Orkins 2013 book Ivan Ramen: Love, Obsession, and Recipes from Tokyos Most Unlikely Noodle Joint is among the most widely-read English-language ramen titles globally and documents the process of opening the first Rokakoen shop in Tokyo in detail. The book remains the central text for non-Japanese ramen chefs building their own shops internationally.
The third pillar is the multi-format public voice. Orkin has been the subject of major documentary features including PBS Mind of a Chef Season 4 (2015) and Netflix Chefs Table Season 6 (2018), plus the 6 December 2025 CBS Mornings segment. Within the Asian-American restaurant cohort he sits alongside Masaharu Morimoto, David Chang and Roy Choi as one of the defining chefs of the American Japanese and broader Asian culinary moment from the mid-2000s onward.
Notable Ivan Ramen dishes
Several Ivan Ramen dishes have become reference points in American ramen. The signature shio ramen with clear dashi broth, thin hand-made noodles, and precisely composed toppings has been the central dish since the 2007 Tokyo opening and anchors the New York and London menus. The Roasted Garlic Mazemen (a brothless ramen with roasted garlic oil, tare and aggressive aromatic seasoning) is one of the defining Ivan Ramen Lower East Side dishes from 2013. The triple-garlic mazemen and the spicy red chili ramen are long-running menu favourites. The 2013 book Ivan Ramen: Love, Obsession, and Recipes from Tokyos Most Unlikely Noodle Joint documents the development of the signature noodle and broth recipes in detail.
Ivan Orkin awards and recognition
- 2007: Opens first Ivan Ramen in Rokakoen, Tokyo (first non-Japanese chef with successful Tokyo ramen shop)
- 2010: Opens second Tokyo location (Ivan Ramen Plus) in Shinjuku
- 2013: Opens Ivan Ramen Slurp Shop at Gotham West Market and flagship Ivan Ramen in Lower East Side, New York
- 2013: Publishes Ivan Ramen: Love, Obsession, and Recipes from Tokyos Most Unlikely Noodle Joint
- 2015: Features on PBS Mind of a Chef Season 4
- 2018: Features on Netflix Chefs Table Season 6
- November 2025: Conde Nast Traveller feature on the return of New York Ivan Ramen
- 6 December 2025: CBS Mornings feature on Orkin and Ivan Ramen
- April 2026: Opens Ivan Ramen London (first European location)
- 2026: Ivan Ramen continues operating in New York and London
Ivan Orkin impact on American ramen and international ramen
Orkins most concrete contribution is the 2007 opening of Ivan Ramen in Rokakoen, Tokyo, making him among the first non-Japanese chefs to open and operate a successful ramen shop in Japan. The Tokyo shop earned serious Japanese critical reception within months of opening, and the subsequent 2010 Shinjuku opening consolidated Orkins position as a legitimate ramen chef in the Tokyo scene rather than as a novelty. The Tokyo years through 2015 gave him the technical foundation and cultural credibility on which the later international operation was built.
The second contribution is the 2013 New York Ivan Ramen openings, which introduced Tokyo-trained ramen technique to New York at a time when American ramen was still largely limited to lower-quality chain-style offerings. Ivan Ramen in the Lower East Side helped establish ramen as a legitimate New York food category alongside the wider late-2000s and early-2010s Japanese food moment that included Masaharu Morimoto, David Changs Momofuku and the wider Asian-American chef cohort including Roy Choi.
The third contribution is the 2013 book Ivan Ramen: Love, Obsession, and Recipes from Tokyos Most Unlikely Noodle Joint, which remains the most-cited English-language documentary text for non-Japanese chefs building ramen shops internationally, and which together with the 2015 PBS Mind of a Chef and 2018 Netflix Chefs Table features established Orkin as the defining international face of non-Japanese ramen practice. The April 2026 London opening extends the Ivan Ramen footprint to Europe for the first time.
Ivan Orkin FAQ
Is Ivan Ramen open?
Yes. Ivan Ramen operates in the Lower East Side, New York (opened 2013) and the Slurp Shop at Gotham West Market. In April 2026 Ivan Ramen London opened as the first European location, described by SPHERE Magazine as the citys latest ramen destination. The original Tokyo locations operated from 2007 to 2015 before being closed.
Was Orkin the first non-Japanese chef to run a Tokyo ramen shop?
Orkin is widely credited as among the first non-Japanese chefs to open and operate a successful ramen shop in Japan. The original Ivan Ramen opened in Rokakoen, western Tokyo, in 2007 and earned serious Japanese critical reception within months of opening, making Orkin one of the defining non-Japanese ramen practitioners internationally.
Where is Orkin from?
Syosset, a middle-class suburb on Long Island, New York. Orkin was born on 8 March 1963 into a Jewish-American family. He first encountered Japanese food as a teenager working at a Japanese restaurant in Great Neck, Long Island, and later studied Japanese language and literature at the University of Colorado Boulder.
When did Ivan Ramen open in London?
In April 2026. The London opening is Ivan Ramens first European location and extends the brand beyond Tokyo and New York for the first time. SPHERE Magazine described Ivan Ramen London as the citys latest ramen destination when it opened in April 2026.
Has Orkin been on television?
Yes. Orkin has been featured in multiple major television and documentary productions: PBS Mind of a Chef Season 4 (2015), Netflix Chefs Table Season 6 (2018) with a dedicated episode about his life and work, and a 6 December 2025 CBS Mornings segment. He is one of the most documented non-Japanese ramen chefs in international food media.
What is next for Ivan Orkin
Following the April 2026 London opening, Orkin continues to lead Ivan Ramen operations in New York (Lower East Side flagship and Slurp Shop) and London. The Ivan Ramen cookbook and documentary work continues as an ongoing cultural project. His public Instagram (@ramenjunkie) is the best source for current updates.
