Despite a successful career as a fashion designer in Tokyo, with a sake sommelier certification in hand, Chizuko Niikawa-Helton embarked upon a life in sake in New York City.

Working from the ground up, her aptitude for sales and popularity with customers helped her to become New York’s top female sake sommelier. During her four-year tenure at Sakagura, New York City’s prominent sake restaurant, Chizuko cultivated a selection of over 300 different sake labels, a collection rarely achieved even in Japan.

In 2008, focused on developing independent sake events and sake sales techniques designed to make sake more fun, delicious and smart, she founded her own consulting company, Sake Discoveries, LLC. Focused on increasing sake fans nationwide, she consults with restaurants across the country to develop unique sake lists and staff training programs.

She also specializes in producing large-scale sake and shochu events and lectures, and assists Japanese brewers in U.S.-based brand development, social media and public relations. She has served as a judge for the U.S. National Sake Appraisal, the Japan Kansake (warm sake) Contest and the Toronto International Sake Challenge. She has also coordinated government related events such as FEEL GIFU for 2 consecutive years for the Gifu prefectural government and NINOHE CITY FAIR events for 6 years. As well as being a certified sake sommelier of SSI and WSET she is a certified Instructor for WSET level 3 and for Sake School of America. In 2012, she was awarded the prestigious title of Sake Samurai by the Japan Sake Brewers Association.

From 2015 till 2017 for roughly 2 years she had a late night pop-up hot sake bar "Sake Caliente NY" in Lower East side at notorious Izakaya Yopparai and Azasu in Manhattan to introduce warm sake culture, and eventually operated a pop-up project Sake Caliente Kyoto in Gion, Kyoto for 6 months between April - September of 2017.

Born to a Japanese mother and an American father, America’s first “Miss Sake USA” Jessica Joly is no stranger to navigating multiple cultures. Moving between Japan and California at a young age, she developed an appreciation and knack for how to understand, navigate, and bridge cultural divides.

Developing a love for Japanese food, drink and culture from her early years in Tokyo, Ms. Joly hoped to share this once she moved to New York, and naturally found a home in hospitality industry in NYC.  She has since gained impressive experience from both classic and contemporary establishments including Soba Totto, Bohemian, SakaMai, Ippudo, Patiserrie Tomoko and Tokyo Record Bar.

Joly regularly hosts her own popular sake event at SakaMai, a quirky experience she created to make sake more accessible for the US audience. She features select sakes paired with seasonal dishes, and explains these bottles through a corresponding soul music track for a true “east meets west” evening.

Not only the inaugural winner of Miss Sake USA in 2016, Joly is also an International Kikisake-Shi (Sake Sommelier) WSET Level 3.

Her mission? To share sake, of course. “As the first Miss Sake USA, I look forward to bridging the gap between Japan and America while simultaneously spreading my passion and love for sake to the world. I hope to successfully educate those outside of Japan on the true craftsmanship of sake and share the joy of discovering this world of deeper flavors.”