Courtney Kaplan

The Honours

Kaplan’s lead distinction is the title itself: sommelier. In her case, that title is grounded in sake, which gives the role a clear technical edge and a specific cultural frame. It signals a fluency that can move between explanation and service without sanding down what makes the category distinct. Co-owner adds a second layer to that standing. It places her inside the structure of the restaurant, not just beside it, and links her name to the ongoing operation of OTOTO in Los Angeles. Taken together, the two titles describe a practical kind of authority in the room: one part drink specialist, one part operator. The distinction is visible in the work itself — in how the list is presented, how the pairing is handled, and how the restaurant is held together.

The Craft

Asked about a pairing, she said, "My go-to answer is typically pizza, though I do think this pairing is becoming more well-known as sake evangelists like me have been celebrating it for a long time." That answer shows the reach of sake when it is placed outside the usual script. Pizza is the example she gives, and she treats it as a pairing with a long working life rather than a novelty. At OTOTO, the Chicken Katsu Sando extends the same logic in another direction, bringing fried chicken, snowy cabbage, pickled jalapenos, katsu sauce, kewpie, and toasted milk bread into one composed dish. Kaplan’s craft is in making sake readable without flattening it into shorthand. It sits in service, in the pairing choices she makes, and in the confidence to put sake beside foods that might not first seem to belong with it.

The Career

Her hospitality career began in a yakiniku restaurant in Tokyo. That starting point gives the path a clear frame: the first experience was in a Japanese dining setting before later work in Los Angeles.

Signature

Courtney's signature dishes include Chicken Katsu Sando.

In Their Words “My go-to answer is typically pizza, though I do think this pairing is becoming more well-known as sake evangelists like me have been celebrating it for a long time.”