Kojicon 2026 Schedule
Session topics and DETAILS
All times listed are EST. All Kojicon 2026 Presentation links will be on our website's password-protected 2026 Ticketholder Access Page. Your ticket includes access to recordings of all sessions from 2021 through 2025 for viewing at your convenience. Details are subject to change.
Presenters will be scheduled at various times over the two weeks (February 16 - March 2) and will livestream their demonstrations or conversations. Sessions can be watched live or anytime after the presentation begins. This page is still being updated — check back daily!
Join our Kojicon Kickoff on Monday, February 16 at 10AM EST for FREE to learn more about our conference - join below!
Monday, February 16 at 10AM EST
Join Rich Shih, Eric Dawson, and the Yellow Farmhouse Team for the kick-off session for Kojicon 2026!
Live Session Link: TO BE POSTED SOON
kojicon Kick-Off
Unconventional approaches to amazake
Monday, February 16 at 3PM EST
Beyond it’s traditional role as a sweet drink, amazake opens the door to using unexpected ingredients and incorporating unique techniques. From making amazake in the refrigerator to using it as a marinade for different animal proteins, explore the vast potential of this ferment for changing flavors with fermentation expert Sandor Katz.
Tuesday, February 17 at 11AM EST
Rather than focusing on preserving tradition, Shuta Aoki examines how fermentation technology — especially koji-based fermentation — has enabled continuous adaptation to changing lifestyles while maintaining a consistent customer-first philosophy. This presentation explores this year’s theme through the lens of fermentation, using Marukome’s 170-year history as a case study.
Designing the palate with responsibility — how koji shapes culture, health, and everyday life
Closing the loop: zero-waste cooking with koji
Tuesday, February 17 at 6PM EST
Join Katerina Lazareva as she explores how traditional koji fermentation can be used as a modern, closed-loop solution to reduce vegetable waste. Katerina demonstrates how one vegetable can be fully transformed into multiple flavour-rich foods using koji-based techniques. Explore how fermentation methods such as miso, garums, shio koji, and more can eliminate waste while building deeper flavor, longer shelf life, and more resilient kitchen systems.
Tuesday, February 17 at 8PM EST
Carl Callawaert brings this presentation inside the working koji room of Nishiyama Sake Brewery and Koden, a fermentation restaurant, both in Japan. Learn about how koji is produced at a large scale, how professional tools and environments can be translated to small-scale and home use, and see final fermented dishes served at Koden — highlighting how modern and traditional techniques coexist in an evolving fermentation culture.
from koji room to table
Wednesday, February 18 at 1PM EST
Join Nick Adams of the Koji House to explore how koji drives mirin’s complexity, balance, and transformative power in the kitchen, reshaping flavor, texture, and depth across a wide range of foods. Nick will connect these ideas to Charlottesville’s sustainable food community, framing mirin as a reflection of how localized systems can nourish both people and place. The result is a conversation about flavor, fermentation, and the value of small-scale collaboration.
The story of mirin
Bridging Japanese fermentation traditions and American tastes
Thursday, February 19 at 8PM EST
Natto is one of Japan’s most iconic fermented foods. Aya Abe Rowe introduces what natto is, how it is made, and how it has been prepared and eaten traditionally, and how it can be cooked and enjoyed in everyday dishes. Drawing from her experience as a natto maker in the US, Aya explores how a centuries-old fermentation tradition adapts as it travels across cultures, inviting new audiences to approach natto with curiosity rather than hesitation.
From local brewing to the world: cultural translation in a time of shift
Friday, February 20 at 8AM EST
Mutsumi Komune and Manami Auregan act as cultural translators, addressing challenges to food culture such as depopulation, loss of local traditions, and the fading of regional identity. Their work helps Japanese brewers communicate their craft and value beyond linguistic and cultural barriers, connecting them with the global fermentation community. By helping brewers share their stories, they aim to sustain food culture as a living practice.
Saturday, February 21 at 12PM EST
This talk traces two deeply personal fermentation journeys. Masako Morishita reflects on growing up in her family’s 94-year old techinomi restaurant and her evolution into a James Beard Award-winning chef. Brad Deboy shares how a catastrophic illness led him to fermentation as a tool for healing and shaped his career as a Michelin-starred chef. Together, they discuss fermentation as a vessel for resilience, flavor development, and creative collaboration.
Home, heritage, and high end kitchens: crafting flavors across generations
Sunday, February 22 at 12PM EST
Halfway there! Join Rich Shih, Eric Dawson, and the Yellow Farmhouse Team for a check-in session.
Kojicon check in
Monday, February 23 at 10AM EST
How has traditional Japanese fermentation using koji survived 150 years of change? Join Arline Lyons to trace how koji stewardship and use has evolved from the isolation of Aspergillus oryzae in the late 1800s to today, persisting and developing through industrialization, war, technological innovation and globalization.
20th century koji
from koji craft to microbial science: exploring fermentation beyond 0.02%
Monday, February 23 at 7PM EST
Fermentation is often described as natural, intuitive, and artisanal, yet it is also one of the most sophisticated ways humans collaborate with microorganisms. Drawing on nearly a decade of educational work in Japan, Wataru Ogasawara explores why Japanese fermentation is especially meaningful to study through science. He revisits the fundamentals of koji, highlights the role of tane-koji in ensuring quality and safety, and introduces Hakko Science Lab.
Tuesday, February 24 at 9AM EST
In this presentation, David Zilber explores koji’s role in East Asia as a powerful accelerant of human settlement and agricultural expansion. He examines how koji-enabled fermentations made it possible to transform local crops into stable, nutritious foods across diverse environments. Drawing on historical and culinary examples, the talk shows how the recipes shaped by koji are remarkably robust, adapting to social, environmental, and economic change.
biological robustness: koji and the interspecific braid
Tuesday, February 24 at 12PM EST
Fermentation is a big field, and it can seem intimidating — there’s so much to learn! But knowing a few basic formulas can unlock a huge amount of flexibility and freedom in your kitchen. Join Peter Barrett as he demonstrrates utilizing what you have around you in various ways, With this knowledge, unlock new doors to flavor and waste reduction strategies for your own home.
improvisation in fermentation
designing koji experiments: from idea to finished ferment
Wednesday, February 25 at 12PM EST
This session dives into Eleana Hsu of Shared Cultures methods for designing koji experiments with flavor as the guiding compass, using real past batches as case studies. Participants will see how an idea becomes a structured experiment, then evolves through tasting notes and iterations into a finished ferment. Along the way, Eleana will talk about choosing variables, documenting results, learning from “failed” batches, and building a personal flavor library.
Wednesday, February 25 at 2PM EST
The culture of plant-based cooking is rooted in every geographic area of the world. Koji is a transformative ingredient, able to shift flavors, cooking styles, and the culture behind vegetable-based diets. Chef Ernest Foundas will discuss techniques for making vegan fish sauces & garums, fermented beverages, using koji to make vegan creams, in sugar cane fermentation, as well as explaining other cultural uses for both at home and in the restaurant.
The culture of koji in plant based foods & farming
Thursday, February 26 at 7AM EST
Snow Food is a cultural system shaped by heavy snowfall, fermentation, and the wisdom of living with nature in Japan’s snow country. Sho Suzuki explores how extreme climate conditions led to the development of fermentation, preservation, and community-based food culture. Through real projects including miso culture, food education, regional revitalization, and international exchange, he examines how local food culture can adapt in a changing world.
Snow food: fermentation & culture shaped by heavy snow
Thursday, February 26 at 3PM EST
This talk explores fermentation as a practice with the power to reshape our food system. Drawing on 23 years of land-based work on her Vermont mountain farm, Melissa Hoffman describes how fermenters serve as cultural intermediaries — connecting land and microbiome, growers and cooks, wild and cultivated habitats, plants and animals, abundance and scarcity — with rich opportunities for bioregional collaboration.
Towards a culture of food sovereignty
Friday, February 27 at 3PM EST
Mechanization and the adaptation of emerging technologies doesn’t have to lead to industrialization. Our grandparents would have loved some of the modern conveniences that technology can bring us in the kitchen. Join Jeremy Umansky of Larder Deli for a discussion of how artisan fermented foods can be made with 21st-century technology without sacrificing any romance!
21st century koji
koji in everyday life: simple and practical uses
Saturday, February 28 at 6PM EST
Yoko Nakazawa shares how koji can be easily and naturally incorporated into everyday life. She introduces the koji seasonings, drinks, and condiments she regularly uses in her own kitchen, explains how to make them, and explores how koji pairs with ingredients like ginger, garlic, and tomato, enhancing their natural flavors without overpowering them. This talk also covers uses of koji beyond the kitchen, including beauty routines and household cleaning.
Sunday, March 1 at 4PM EST
Traditionally, fermented foods like soy sauce and miso have been used primarily in the seasoning stage of cooking. However, a growing number of chefs are taking a different approach; they are incorporating the microorganisms themselves, particularly koji, into the cooking process. Takashi Sato will explore this emerging trend and share insights into how fermentation, as an active part of the culinary process, is expanding the possibilities of modern cuisine.
fermentation as a tool: rethinking koji
Monday, March 2 at 3PM EST
Join Rich Shih, Eric Dawson, and the Yellow Farmhouse Team to wrap up another fantastic year of moldy magic!