Team
ELLIOT FABER - DIRECTOR
Elliot is the founding and Current Beverage Director for Yardbird Hong Kong and RŌNIN, as well as Yakido set to open in Los Angeles in 2020. More recently, he co-founded Sunday's Distribution and The Kura Collective, both of which offer beverage distribution solutions featuring a curated selection of wine, sake, and spirits. He is also the co-founder of Sunday's Spirits - an independent brand of Japanese alcoholic beverages, including sake, shochu, and whisky, that are made in collaboration with various producers.
Elliot consults on beverage programs and service standards for brands such as SWIRE hotels in Asia and the WYNN in Las Vegas and international events for fashion brands such as Prada and Chloé. He has sourcing and curation of sake experiences and markets ranging from Seychelles to Sardinia, Tokyo to Toronto.
Elliot is a Decanter Magazine Wine Judge, IWC Sake Judge and WSET Educator for Sake and Wine (classes held in collaboration with Sake Central). A certified Sommelier and an Advanced Sake Professional, Elliot has been contributing author to The Guild of Master Sommeliers and JamesSuckling.com.
In 2015 he co-authored the book SAKE: The History, Stories and Craft of Japan’s Artisanal Breweries and was later the recipient of the 'Sake Samurai' award from the Japan Sake Brewers Association Junior Council, an honour that fewer than 100 foreigners have received since its inception in 2005.
Elliot consults on beverage programs and service standards for brands such as SWIRE hotels in Asia and the WYNN in Las Vegas and international events for fashion brands such as Prada and Chloé. He has sourcing and curation of sake experiences and markets ranging from Seychelles to Sardinia, Tokyo to Toronto.
Elliot is a Decanter Magazine Wine Judge, IWC Sake Judge and WSET Educator for Sake and Wine (classes held in collaboration with Sake Central). A certified Sommelier and an Advanced Sake Professional, Elliot has been contributing author to The Guild of Master Sommeliers and JamesSuckling.com.
In 2015 he co-authored the book SAKE: The History, Stories and Craft of Japan’s Artisanal Breweries and was later the recipient of the 'Sake Samurai' award from the Japan Sake Brewers Association Junior Council, an honour that fewer than 100 foreigners have received since its inception in 2005.
KEN NAGAI - DIRECTOR
Ken Nagai moved to Hong Kong from Tokyo in 2003. In 2008, he started his own export consultancy company, NWI Consulting, but his real epiphany came in 2014 when he took the role of Marketing and Business Development Manager at JFC Hong Kong. During his time managing the sale and distribution of Japanese food products at JFC, Ken’s passion for the sake industry began to flourish.
Even before JFC, the main goal of NWI was to promote sake culture outside of Japan and today, he continues to do so as a Director of Sake Central. Ken has cultivated strong relationships with prefectural governments, breweries, and producers throughout Japan, all of which he aims to showcase through Sake Central’s cultural pavilion.
TAKASHI ENDO - DIRECTOR
Born just outside of Tokyo in Kanagawa Prefecture, Takashi Endo worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers upon graduating Hosei University in the year 2000. By 2012, Endo had moved to Hong Kong and started his own firm, L/Rights and Partners, with the goal of supporting Japanese entrepreneurship through advisory services and investment funds. In 2014, he opened Cafe Life in Hong Kong’s Police Married Quarters and the popular coffee shop will be opening its second location in 2018.
Throughout his career, Endo has focused on supporting and promoting Japanese culture outside of his homeland and as a Director of Sake Central he continues to do so today - using his experience and resources to help create awareness and appreciation for the world of sake on a global scale.