Meet the California Grill Lead Sushi Chef Who Reads the Table Before He Builds the Roll

By entgrove · July 24, 2026

Jose Fernandez Daboin covered a sushi station on short notice years ago and never went back to the hot line. Now lead sushi chef at California Grill, he studies where guests are from before deciding what to send out, including off-menu additions built around a table's home country.

The sushi counter at California Grill sends out two of the first things a guest tastes during the restaurant's three course experience: the Spicy Kazan Roll and the Surf and Turf Roll. Lead Sushi Chef Jose Fernandez Daboin says the work starts before either roll is built, with a question about who is sitting at the table.

From the hot line to a sushi station he never asked for

Daboin did not set out to be a sushi chef. He came up through kitchens as a line cook, working the hot line, until a last minute opening at a sushi station put him behind a very different kind of counter. The temporary assignment stuck.

"I realized sushi was completely different than what I was doing. It's precise, it's detailed, and there's so much behind it," Daboin said.

He brought that training to Walt Disney World in 2020, starting in festival kitchens before returning to sushi at Kona Cafe at Disney's Polynesian Village Resort. Two years there sharpened his technique and taught him how much of Disney's storytelling ends up on the plate. He moved to California Grill from there.

Learning Portuguese to keep up with the guests

Away from the counter, Daboin studies international cuisine. Brazilian sushi and its popularity pushed him far enough that he began learning Portuguese, mostly so he could follow ingredient names and flavor preferences without a translation gap in the middle.

"I love getting to know where our guests are from and what they like," Daboin said. "I follow sushi trends from different countries to learn best practices from around the world and bring them to California Grill."

The research pays off in small, specific moments. When a server mentioned that a visiting family had come from Brazil, Daboin knew salmon and cream cheese are a common pairing there. He walked over to their table and offered to add it to their order.

Hidden Mickeys, off-menu additions, and one very good question

The rest of the job is closer to conversation than plating. Daboin works a Hidden Mickey into a roll, asks enough questions to figure out where a guest's palate sits, or hands over a single piece to see whether curiosity takes over. Each of those is an opening to build something the menu does not list.

"If someone is curious, we're here for them," he said. "In other places, an order might just be another ticket. Here, I work with guests beyond the menu, crafting flavors just for them. At Disney, it's about making magic, and that's what sets us apart."

He recently walked Walt Disney World Ambassadors through a hands-on sushi session built around the Spicy Kazan Roll, teaching the same roll that opens the experience for guests every night.

What this means for California Grill diners

California Grill is a reservation-heavy table for a reason, and most of the attention goes to the view and the wine list. The sushi counter is the part guests can actually interact with. If a table has a flavor from home in mind, or wants to know what the chef would build for them specifically, saying so is the whole point of sitting there.

Daboin's profile is one of five Disney chefs being highlighted for National Culinary Arts Month, spanning sushi counters through confectionery kitchens across the parks and resorts.