Meet the Chef

Jayson Whitmore was born on a U.S. airbase in the Philippines and grew up between the base and his mother’s village, the “Culinary Capital of the Philippines,” Pampanga. While you might think his culinary skills were honed in his mother’s and lola’s kitchens (and some were), it wasn’t until he completed high school in Japan and returned to the States that he began his professional relationship with sushi, working in a high-end Japanese restaurant in the heart of Charleston, SC.

Years later, he moved to Hawaii, where he worked as a Hibachi Chef at world-renowned restaurants such as Suntory and Benihana, while also mastering the art of sushi catering with a private company that provided elevated sushi bar experiences for clients.

As life tends to do, it pulled Jayson’s skills in other directions. He acquired a degree in audio engineering and moved back home to Maine where he opened and ran his own recording studio for 10 years before transitioning into the world of sales and project management.

While his professional relationship with sushi may have taken a back seat for a few years, friends and family continued to enjoy his famous spicy tuna rolls, among others, making it known that eventually… he’d be back at it.

When Jayson moved to New Hampshire’s Seacoast in 2026, Nori & Co. was born, and as the name states, it - Nori (seaweed) - would once again become the quiet force that pulls everything else together.