After a long, touted run in Atlanta, chef Sotohiro Kosugi packed up his knives and came to the Village this past summer. Winner of Food and Wine's  Best New Chef of 1997, Kosugi's Japanese cuisine is now wowing New Yorkers so much that Frank Bruni even gave Soto a shout-out as one of the 10 best new restaurants of 2007. Here, in part one of a recent interview with Kosugi, the sushi sensei spouts his views on everything from his favorite brand of knives to the mercury/tuna scare via a recent email chat.

KS: What is your preferred brand of sushi knives?

Chef Sotohiro Kosugi: I use seven different knives everyday for different tasks. Besides my Kyocera ceramic knife (for fruit) I use Sukenari brand. It's a high carbon steel knife handmade at a small factory in Yatsuo, Japan. My entire family--my grandfather, father, brother and two uncles, all sushi chefs--use this brand so it is a family tradition. Many of my knives have been with me since I started cooking in 1981. When I go back home to Japan, I visit the factory and bring in my knives for minor adjustments and major overhauls. This is the reason I am able to use these knives for such a long time--large factories don't provide this service. 

KS: What is your take on the recent New York Times story on high mercury levels in tuna?

SK: I feel sad that many journalists often use partial facts in order to get readers' attention. I would ask the writer of that story to please also study the benefits in tuna as well, like the benefits of selenium and DHA, for example. The Japanese have known about tuna's mercury content for a long time, but we also know about the benefits of other nutrition in tuna. If people are very concerned about mercury levels my conclusion is always the same: Eat with balance. Balance of meals is the key to a healthy life.