What Restaurants Offered Japanese Chefs in the United States: Recent Positions and Packages (2026)
Since January 2025, restaurants in the United States have opened positions for Japanese chefs through Washoku Agent. This page shows each of them as the restaurant posted it: the role, the concept, the city, the pay and what else the package included, the hours, and what the restaurant asked for. Restaurant names are not shown. It is written for owners in the US who are planning a hire and want to see what others offered before they set their own package.
Positions restaurants in the US opened since 2025
Head chef for a long-established shabu-shabu kaiseki restaurant in Los Angeles with 37 seats; existing restaurant. Counter cooking, menus, staff training, hygiene and purchasing.
| Position | Head chef |
|---|---|
| Concept | Kaiseki |
| Location | Los Angeles, the United States |
| Base pay offered | US$6,000 to 9,000 a month |
| Also in the package |
|
| Hours and days off | 13:00 to 22:00 with a 1 hour break, 1 day off a week; open 17:00 to 22:00 |
| What the restaurant asked for |
|
| Start | As early as possible |
Assistant sushi chef at a popular sushi dining restaurant in New Jersey near New York, in its third year and Japanese-owned; counter sushi, service, prep and purchasing.
| Position | Junior chef |
|---|---|
| Concept | Sushi |
| Location | New Jersey, the United States |
| Base pay offered | Gross pay US$60,000 to US$80,000 |
| Also in the package |
|
| Hours and days off | About 9:00 to 23:00 with breaks, 1 day off a week; lunch and dinner service |
| What the restaurant asked for |
|
| Start | Negotiable |
Head chef for a Japanese fine dining restaurant in Chicago, open 15 years, mixing Japanese and American styles; replaces the previous head chef and leads sushi, robata and kitchen.
| Position | Head chef |
|---|---|
| Concept | Japanese restaurant |
| Location | Chicago, the United States |
| Base pay offered | Up to US$5,500 a month, negotiable on experience |
| Also in the package |
|
| Hours and days off | 10 hours a day with a 1 hour break, 1 day off a week; lunch and dinner |
| What the restaurant asked for |
|
| Start | To be discussed |
Omakase sushi chef for a new omakase room inside a well-known Japanese restaurant in Houston open more than 30 years; counter sushi, course dishes, menu ideas and ordering.
| Position | Chef |
|---|---|
| Concept | Sushi |
| Location | Houston, the United States |
| Base pay offered | Up to US$6,000 a month, negotiable on experience |
| Also in the package |
|
| Hours and days off | 10:30 to 22:00 with a 3 hour break, 1 day off a week |
| What the restaurant asked for |
|
| Start | To be discussed |
Before you set the package for the US
The postings above show what owners offered, not what the market requires. Our guide to hiring and managing Japanese chefs in the US adds the visa route, the official salary floors and what a chef from Japan needs on top of the base pay. Japanese Chef Salary Abroad compares advertised salaries in six countries, and the overview of positions by country shows how the US compares with the others.
Frequently asked questions
Why are the restaurant names not shown?
Owners share their plans with us in confidence, often before an opening is announced. We show the role, concept, city and package so the information is useful to other owners in the US, and we give the restaurant's name only to the chefs we introduce.
Are the positions marked Open still available?
Open means the restaurant was still searching when we last updated this page from our records. Closed means the search stopped. Filled means the position was filled through Washoku Agent.
Can a chef apply through this page?
No. This page is for restaurant owners. Chefs find our positions in Japanese at washoku-agent.com/jobs, where each posting has its own application route.
Why do the packages differ so much?
The role, the concept, the city, whether housing is included and the visa route all move the figure. Our guide Japanese Chef Salary Abroad puts advertised salaries from six countries side by side, and the hiring guide for the US explains the visa route and what a chef from Japan needs on top of the base pay.
We are planning a similar position. What happens next?
Tell us the country, concept, role and timeline through the contact page. We reply with the visa route, the package the market expects and the profile of the chefs in our registered pool who fit.
Not ready to hire full-time? Start with a project: a Japanese chef can develop a menu or train your team for a few weeks. See how a project works.
- What Restaurants Offered Japanese Chefs in Malaysia: Recent Positions and Packages (2026)
- What Restaurants Offered Japanese Chefs in France: Recent Positions and Packages (2026)
Related posts
What Restaurants Offered Japanese Chefs in the Netherlands: Recent Positions and Packages (2026)
What Restaurants Offered Japanese Chefs in France: Recent Positions and Packages (2026)
What Restaurants Offered Japanese Chefs in Malaysia: Recent Positions and Packages (2026)
