Chef Mary Mendoza, who describes her cooking style as a combination of necessity and creativity, is the pastry chef of the Daikaya Group (Tonari, Bantam King, Daikaya Ramen Shop and Daikaya Izakaya, Haikan, and Hatoba). Born in the Philippines, Chef Mary came to the US to study at American University in Washington, DC. Under the mentorship of Daikaya's Chef Katsuya Fukushima, Mary has grown into leading pastry and desserts for the company, and she is also the pizzaiolo at Tonari. Chef Mary feels lucky to be a part of the Washington DC Restaurant industry and acknowledges that there are opportunities for people of any race or culture to become and be part of a leadership and management position in DC restaurants.