A chef's job is to bring joy to people.

Born in Matsue in 1973. He says his dream was always to have his own restaurant. He had an interest in cooking, and worked part time at a restaurant, while also often cooking at home. He began working at a sushi restaurant at the age of 24. His good points are that he enjoys serving people, and making them happy. This is what he believes is an important part of being a chef. He spent four years learning all of the ins and outs of sushi and Japanese cuisine to become independent. His heart's desire is to open a restaurant where customers feel welcome, and that serves original, heart-felt food.

His training started from as early as elementary school and he was considered a cooking genius.

He started working at a Japanese restaurant and Japanese sweet shops when he was an elementary school student. He graduated from the culinary school, Tsuji, and also went to France to study at a French cooking college. He went to Alsace and visited other areas as well. He became a chef after four years and returned to Japan after eight years in total. In 2012, he opened La FinS.

Enjoy authentic, hotel-grade Chinese food at this street side venue.

Born on March 25, 1960, in Kyoto Prefecture. Influenced by parents, who were both true gastronomes, he developed a keen interest in cooking, especially Chinese food, from a very early age. In 1980, he began what would become a 7 year training at restaurant Dunhuang in Yamaguchi Prefecture. He was also deeply impressed by the passionate approach of Chef Kazuo Uchida, his senior at the Hotel New Otani in Osaka (currently serving as chef at the ANA Hotel in Kyoto), which further deepened his commitment to the culinary arts. His downtown restaurant's creed is to make luxury hotel-grade Chinese cuisine easily accessible to all.

A chef who is constantly thinking up new menus in which the flavors of the drinks and the food complement each other

Born in 1965 in Oita Prefecture, graduated from Tsuji Japanese Culinary Arts College. After gaining experience in Kyoto and Osaka he went independent, starting his own restaurant in Kyoto. In 2006 fate brought him to "Ristorante Misato", where he shows off his skills daily as the lead chef.

A chef whose spirit is formed on the foundation of strong Japanese cuisine fundamentals interwoven with seasonal delights

After seeing the old style restaurant "Kicho" on TV, he yearned to work at such a place, and enrolled in culinary school. After graduating he got a job at an old style restaurant called Kikumi in Akasaka. After polishing his Japanese cuisine skills at "Kobori" in Akasaka, "Hamaisihi", a fancy restaurant in Ginza, and "Narita View Hotel", he established his own restaurant. He is very picky about the ingredients he uses. He selects organic rice and vegetables from his hometown, and goes to markets to personally pick out the freshest ingredients, allowing customers to experience the full flavor of each season.

He strives to build a unique menu that matches the restaurant's atmosphere

He was born in Nagano prefecture in 1979, and it was a part-time kitchen job that gave him the motivation to go to Tokyo and start cooking professionally. After training at hotel kitchens and French restaurants, he gathered experience at various restaurants, such as a small bistro and a 145-seater restaurant in Daikanyama, where he worked as the head chef. In 2012, he became the head chef of Dining & Bar KITSUNE, where he handles the creation of new menu items, including dishes like "Sushine," a cross between sushi and a terrine. He says, "I want to continue offering dishes that taste great, but still manage to surprise customers."

Was a boy who loved breadThis is my dream job.

I have been hooked on bread since I was young. I wanted to bake my own bread since my teen years. After graduating, I trained in making breads and cakes for 10 years and held a manager position for 20 years, then finally my childhood dream of having my own shop came true. I opened a restaurant specializing in pies in February, 2014 in Kichijoji.

He pours 100% of his effort into every skewer to offer you his best every time.

Born in 1976, a native of Hokkaido's Muroran City. After working at a pub as a part-time job, he decided to enter the world of the culinary arts. He worked at a pub in Sapporo for almost ten years, were he learned how to manage food preparation and instruct staff - the whole operation of a successful restaurant. In 2004, he returned to his hometown of Muroran and began working at "Yakitori no Ippei Main Store." He tells us that "there's no way you could get this kind of quality at a cheap yakitori joint - my motto is to cook every single skewer to delicious perfection before I offer it to my customers."

Impressed by the food he ate at a restaurant when he was in elementary school

Born in Kansai in 1972. He was impressed by the Chinese food he ate in elementary school at the restaurant ATAKA. When he graduated high school he decided to enter the world of Chinese cuisine that he so loved. He has since trained at Shoentei.

Serious about his cooking, he was born to be a chef

This chef was born on January 30th, 1972 in Hyogo Prefecture. Originally, he simply had an affinity for service, and wound up heading down the path to becoming a chef. He worked at various pubs and restaurants all over, and gradually came to realize the importance of making meals. Then he grew to find joy in delighting people with his cooking, and got serious about it as a career. When Kitsetsu Ryori Sakura opened in 2013, he took the opportunity to apply here, and he works here still.

Embarked on a culinary career path in order to introduce the deliciousness and intricacies of our dishes to as many people as possible.

Born on July 20, 1979, in Nagasaki Prefecture. His love of food and desire to make people happy by serving delicious food led him onto the path to becoming a chef. He trained and gained experience as a chef while working at a high-end Japanese cuisine restaurant in Ginza. He opened up "Nihonbashi Maeda" on his own 14 years later. With a talent for creating unique Japanese dishes using seasonal ingredients, he serves great tasting food enjoyed by all his customers, young and old.

Born February 23rd, 1960, a native of Hyogo Prefecture. After graduating from high school he worked at a number of restaurants, before traveling to France. He studied under Bernard Loiseau, the head chef at La Cote d'Or (now called Le Relais Bernard Loiseau), who gave rise to the Asian-inspired French fusion style, which our chef learned. He returned home to work at the Japanese chef of La Cote d'Or Kobe in 1992. As of 2000 he was promoted to the general manager and head chef of the Kitano Kobe Hotel.

From boxer to owner of oden (hot pot dish) stall. And then to French cuisine, in pursuit of the world stage…

He was born in Ibaraki prefecture in 1949. When he was in college, he was selected as one of the candidates to compete in gymnastics for the Olympics, and after graduating, he became a ranked professional boxer in Japan. After wrecking his body and giving up on boxing, he made a 180 degree turn and opened an oden (hot pot dish) stall. However, he says, "That would never allow me to aim for the world stage," and entered the world of French cuisine. He underwent training at a restaurant in Tokyo before going to France. After perfecting his skills for two years in places such as restaurants with three Michelin stars, he returned to Japan, and in 1988, he opened "A Ta Goul" in Ebisu. He took the opportunity to rename his restaurant to "Ne Quittez Pas" when he moved to Gotanda.

Our chef feels it's his true calling to provide excellent service to his customers at the counter

Born in 1977 in Fukushima Prefecture. He worked at a sushi shop in Sendai for 14 years before becoming a chef at Sushidokoro Koya, and now he's the owner of Sushidokoro Koya Sendaisushidori Store. He loves to sell sushi over the counter and see all of his customers' faces - he feels that it is his calling.

A fateful encounter during a five-year stay in Madrid…

He was born in Kochi prefecture in 1981. After graduating from culinary school, he started his career with a role in a Japanese restaurant. He decided to shift his focus after motivation from a special feature on Spain that he read in a magazine, and went to Spain when he was 22. He trained at various places such as Castile and Leon, and spent five years at the Arroceria "Mano a Mano" in Madrid. He returned to Japan when he was 29. In September 2012, he opened "Arroceria Sal y Amor" together with Mr. Victor Garcia, whom he met in Madrid, as a co-owner.

Spanish Italian Fusion Cuisine

I thought it was important to learn a trade, so I decided to pursue cooking. As the chef at Spiral, I create Spanish Italian fusion cuisine, and cook dishes using oysters.

I had a fascination with the hospitality industry and I always hoped to have my own place!

My first job working in the hospitality industry was at an izakaya. While I was working there, I became very interested in the industry and I began to think about starting up my own place. From that time on, all of my attention went into learning how to cook. The izakaya that I worked at focused mainly on seafood based cuisine, which meant that I gained a lot of knowledge and tricks about cooking with fish. People say that my knowledge of fish is on a different level to others.

Always obsessive about fish.

Seafood direct from the Port of Heda, Numazu. Every morning we head to Numazu port to buy our stock. Normally the fishermen bring in their afternoon catch to the Port of Heda to put out at market the next day. But we go directly to buy our fish so by that evening we can serve it in our restaurant. Our customers get to experience a freshness they would normally not be able to do.

Protecting traditions by utilizing skills learned from previous generations and polishing them further.

Yamamoto is a chef from Hyogo Prefecture. His parents ran this restaurant before him, so he was familiar with this cuisine from a young age and naturally wanted to impart its sense and taste with customers and everyone he came in contact with. As he grew up he came to inherit this restaurant that his parents poured so much love into, and wanted to make even more of it. When he graduated from school he entered the culinary world without hesitation. He has come to be where he is now as the result of the guidance and support of his parents and the training he undertook at this restaurant.

Bringing out the full flavor of beef tongue

Our chef entered into the world of cuisine having fallen in love with cooking as a child. After gaining experience at other beef-tongue restaurants, he came to Rikyu having been drawn to the idea of creative new tastes in beef-tongue cuisine. He spends each day at the grill with the aim of sharing with the world the full depth of flavor that is possible with beef tongue.