Beginning at age 5, chef Michael Shortino spent valuable time in the kitchen with his father, also a chef, cultivating a love of cooking and the very best ingredients. A third generation chef, Shortino’s father and grandfather taught him the importance of the integrity of each dish – a philosophy he still carries to this day.

Shortino started his culinary career in the kitchens of luxury resorts in Arizona. From there, he became a corporate chef and partner at Steamers Genuine Restaurants/Big 4 Restaurants where he fell in love with seafood. Working at Steamers opened his eyes to the limitless options of preparing seafood and its rich textures, profiles and flavors. He liked that with seafood, you can never make the same thing twice. The high level of integrity of Japanese cuisine resonates with Shortino. This style of cooking combines the endless cuisine options he admires in preparing seafood with the fresh ingredients he adores. In 2006, Shortino opened the first U.S. location of the international award-winning London-based restaurant Roka Akor in Scottsdale, Ariz., and in 2013 brought the robata technique to Charlotte, N.C., at BAKU restaurant.

Shortino is excited that he’s been able to introduce even more Japanese-inspired concepts to Charlotte at his very own restaurant Futo Buta, which opened in May 2015. Here he utilizes the finest and freshest bounty sourced from Charlotte’s countryside to create stunning dishes from scratch like authentic ramen, gyoza (fried dumplings), Japanese fried chicken (tori kara-v age), amami (soft serve in innovative flavor combinations) and more.