Chef Conversations

In the kitchen with Blake Luecke of Uchi Scottsdale

By Alison Bailin Batz / Photo by Shelby Moore

Blake Luecke is the chef de cuisine of Uchi Scottsdale, overseeing all kitchen operations, staff management, and menu planning for the Japanese-inspired fusion restaurant.

How does the Uchi Scottsdale location set itself apart?

While all of our Uchi restaurants – we currently have seven open and four in development – offer a variety of sushi, nigiri, sashimi, tempura, and seaweed-wrapped makimono as well as yakimono, which means dishes cooked under heat, each of our locations looks to its individual region for inspiration for its tasting menus and specials. In Scottsdale, we are playing with ingredients like mole, gooseberry pico de gallo, pricky pear, escabeche sauce, and peppers.

What are your favorite menu items?

I love our kinoko usuzukuri, which is a chilled dish with seasonal mushrooms, fried shallots and white soy, as well as the entirety of our toyosu. Our toyosu section of the menu is named for the Japanese fish market where we source those particular fish. It has unique options to Arizona such as black bream, goldeneye snapper, Tasmanian ocean trout, and horse mackerel.

Tell us about your journey to Uchi.

I spent my childhood playing in alfalfa fields and almond orchards and then my teens focused on hockey and competitive swimming, primarily in Bakersfield, California. At a school career expo, I learned about culinary school. Two weeks after graduating high school in 2009, I moved to San Jose and began my journey despite never working in a restaurant. After graduating from the program, I worked at an ice cream shop, a steakhouse, a boutique hotel and even at a vineyard before joining Uchi Austin as a line cook in 2016. Within a year, I was sous chef, and in 2020 became the Austin chef de cuisine. In 2024, I was honored to be chosen to open our Scottsdale restaurant.

What would readers be surprised to know about you?

I’ve been living on three hours of sleep for about nine months now as my wife and I welcomed twins – Madeline and Hudson – last October.

Uchi Scottsdale, 3821 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale; www.uchi.uchirestaurants.com; 480.916.0916.