On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with kosher sushi chef Marisa Baggett, who blends tradition, identity and intention in her culinary work.

“My sushi journey and my Jewish journeys are actually very much entwined,” Baggett explains. “When I was going through sushi school, I was also embracing Judaism, so there was always this kind of… pull between how I'm going to show up as a Jewish sushi chef.”

Baggett, who once owned a kosher deli and has brought her Japanese training into her Jewish food, decided to focus mostly on plant-based food in the last year.

“I think that I was probably always kind of on this path of heading towards only making plant-based sushi,” she says. “It just took me a while to get there.”

When asked what she knows now that she wished she knew early in her career, Baggett says that it’s okay to bring all of the pieces of who you are to the table at once.

“For the longest time, I tried to keep everything separate,” she explains. “I really wish that I brought more of everything together - Southern, Jewish background, the Japanese training - earlier in my career.”

Chef Marisa Baggett talks about her out-of-the-blue sushi origin story, food memories from growing up in the south, and how to embrace creativity in the kitchen. She also shares her recipe for miso mish mash soup, which you can find at JewishJournal.com/podcasts.

“Give yourself permission to have fun in the kitchen,” she says. “There's a lot of flexibility in that one bowl.”

Learn more at MarisaBaggett.com, follow @ChefMarisaBaggett on Instagram and watch Marisa Baggett compete on “Morimoto’s Sushi Master” on The Roku Channel.

For more from Taste Buds, subscribe on iTunes and YouTube, and follow @TheDEBMethod on social media.