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.

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A chef who displays the virtues of Indian cuisine, while also looking for ways to match its flavors to Japanese tastes.

It has been six years since Chef Sawana, the owner's younger brother, came to Japan. He became the chef with the hope that "the Japanese people can enjoy the taste of Indian home cooking." Chef Sawana is in charge of tandoori and naan. By making spiciness levels adjustable and so forth, he continues to refine his dishes to suit the Japanese palate.

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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.

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.

Influenced by relatives who ran a sushi shop, he started his career in cooking.

He was born in Chiba Prefecture in 1964. Thanks to his relatives who ran a sushi shop, he has wanted to become a chef ever since he was a child. He started his training at a sushi restaurant in Tokyo when he was 15 and after that, he polished his skills at several other shops. In 1994, he opened up a new shop, "Kisoji", in Shinbashi in Minato Ward in Tokyo Prefecture and ever since then, has been serving only the freshest of ingredients and seasonal fish that are not only healthy, but let you enjoy the delicious flavors of each season.

Breathing new life into traditional Spanish cuisine

He was born in Ishikawa prefecture in 1982. He says that he focused on Spanish cuisine in culinary school because the Latino atmosphere matched his character well. After his graduation, he worked for three years at a hotel in Kanazawa before going to Spain to learn about the flavors in the country itself. In Spain, he trained at famous Michelin-starred restaurants such as "Restaurante Alameda", "Fonda Sala", and "Restaurante Neiche", and he opened "Fermintxo" in Nishi-Azabu after returning to Japan. He continues to present the techniques he learned at those famous restaurants, together with his novel ideas that never adhere to a fixed framework, on a plate.

Trained under two master chefs

Born in 1978 in Tokyo. Enrolled in a culinary school and then set out to work in that field. He studied in Shibuya's "Bigorosso" and Daikanyama's "Canobiano" under Uetake Takamasa, and then at the age of 22 he went to Italy for about two and a half years. He improved his craft in many restaurants, including a 2 star Michelin location in Tuscany, the "Tendarossa." After returning to Japan, he trained under Sasajima Yasuhiro at Marunouchi's "Il Giottone," working as a chef from the opening. In 2008, he opened the mainly vegetarian "Frick." It is a restaurant that is very popular with regular customers.

Our chef values the input of his guests and pursues fashionable, cuttingedge cuisine with the spirit of a true craftsman

Born September 25th, 1957 in Miyazaki Prefecture. After graduating from the Tsuji Culinary Institute in Osaka, he studied at Seiyoken for five years before moving to France. He started at Japanese restaurants before working his way to the Michelin one-star (now three-star) restaurant Guy Savoy in Paris. He then honed his skills at the Swiss restaurant Girardet before returning to Japan. He served as head chef at Restaurant Hiramatsu and chateau restaurant Joel Robuchon for three years before striking out on his own. In 1997 he opened Restaurant Monna Lisa Ebisu.

Encountering genuine motsunabe (meat stew) in Osaka led to him opening his own restaurant

I'm originally from Ichinomiya City. After stepping away from the 9-to-5 life of a businessman, I entered cooking school. After that, I apprenticed at a Chinese restaurant and worked at a gyoza (dumpling) shop in Osaka for even more training. When a famous motsunabe (meat stew) restaurant from Fukuoka opened a branch in Osaka, I seized the opportunity to work there and trained for a year and a half, and in 2007 split off and opened a restaurant in Nagoya.

Our goal is to make sure our parents eat delicious food.

Born in Nagano Prefecture on the 10 of March, 1963, he set out to become a chef so that he could make delicious food for his parents. After he worked at a Hotel for three and half years, he got a job at Restaurant Carrot, where he is now based.

Demonstrating the knowledge and techniques built up over three generations

Mr. Yakou's grandfather was a maker of tempura who opened an establishment in Ginza named "Naruto", this name being linked to his birthplace, Awaji Island. His father, Yoshio Yakou, struck out on his own, leaving "Naruto" and establishing in 1962 his own restaurant named "Akashi". This name was a reference to being on the opposite side of the Naruto Strait. Having grown up watching this family, Mr. Yakou felt he wanted to become a chef, so he trained with his father to develop his skills. He has reached such a high level of mastery in the preparation of pufferfish that he currently serves as an examiner for the licensing of pufferfish chefs.

By making sure ingredients change every day, there is always an eye on consistent quality.

Born in 1973, and a native of Fukuoka Prefecture, he had always loved food, but was working at a company unrelated to the culinary world. From there, he decided to change occupations and pursue the path of becoming a chef. Every day he constantly watches changes in conditions and the quality of ingredients to insure a consistent high level of quality, which means he is always studying the textures and flavors of the food he has perfected.

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.

With food hygiene his top priority, he is a chef who appraises his fresh ingredients

Born on February 24th, 1951, he hails from Tokyo. He mastered the foundations of Japanese cuisine primarily through small restaurants. He has been involved with Yakitori Toriryori Toritatsu since 2010. Because the food he cooks is for his customers, it is understandable when he says, "More than anything else, I pay attention to my judgement of the ingredients."

I entered the food world after a chance encounter with the boss.

Originally, Mr. Ikeda said he enjoyed customer service. While he was doing some other job, he met the boss of "Sumibi Yakitori Kirishima" and became interested in the food world. After that, he was invited by the boss to manage the restuarant together.

Working hard with the staff to create a comfortable restaurant

Born August 10, 1956 in Sapporo. After graduating from a vocational school, he worked at restaurants, hotels, and izakaya bars, serving customers. When Hokkai Shabu Shabu Kita 2 Jo opened in 2012, he was hired on as manager. Rather than "training staff by the book," he focuses on "little acts of service and hospitality," working towards creating a restaurant with a warm atmosphere along with his staff.

He continues to perfect his skills in a traditional geisha district in order to create food that delights his customers

He loves delicious food and wanted to be able to serve it to customers, so he made the decision to become a chef. Since graduating from culinary college he has spent 13 years working in Japanese restaurants, learning the trade from the basics and building up experience. He is particular about drawing out the innate flavor in ingredients that contain a sense of season and provenance, while at the same time adding an extra touch to simple food. The taste of his food is loved by people of all different ages, and he continues to display his skills, encouraged by expressions of appreciation for his cooking.

A veteran chef who is particular about how to heat all the iingredients meat, fish and vegetables

Born in 1967, in Tokyo. He chose to become a professional cook because he likes to see faces delighted by delicious food. Since 1987, he has been engaged in cooking French cuisine in the main dining room of various hotels within Tokyo. In 2005, he went independent and opened Chez Hiro in Nezu. In 2008, he turned to Spanish cuisine and joined Spain Club Co. After serving as head chef of Kioi-cho Spain Bar and Shimokitazawa Spain Bar, he took over as head chef of Tsukishima Spain Club in 2010.

After all, the love of cooking lead to this profession.

Making a career out of his favorite dish

Having always had a passion for food, he entered the world of cooking in order to delight customers with delicious food. He is a veteran cook who's been working at Rikyu for 15 years. Charcoal-grilled beef tongue is a simple yet profound dish. Every day he focuses all his attention on broiling the meat just right to provide his customers with the best, exquisite taste.