Realising his father's greatness and his own culinary aspirations on leaving Hiroshima.

Shinji Umeda was born on March 17th, 1982. He learned much while working a part-time job at a restaurant. The izakaya (Japanese pub) he worked in at that time had an open kitchen, and during everything he did there, from the difficulty of conversing with customers to gaining more knowledge about cooking, he thought to himself "Dad did it like this, and at that time he spoke about this," and the image of his father's face was constantly on his mind. Shinji is currently training at his father's restaurant, studying the culinary arts so that he may one day open his own restaurant full of smiling, satisfied customers.

Eels, the pride of the proprietor who has continued to handle them since Sansho opened in Asakusa some 30 years ago

After training at an unagi (eel) wholesaler, he opened the unagi specialty restaurant Sansho in 1985. He refuses to compromise on taste and freshness, only procuring enough fresh unagi for the day. In addition to his infallible skills and judgement, he has been winning over customers with his warm and sociable hospitality.

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.

Enjoy "Kushiage" (fried skewers), have fun with the chef, and understand its depth.

After graduating from culinary school, he hoped to become a patissier, so he began working at a French restaurant through an introduction from the school. Following that an acquaintance introduced me to a steakhouse. Ultimately, he wound up working at several different restaurants. When he turned 30, he began thinking about the chef he wanted to become. He started at a kushiage (fried skewers) restaurant. It was his first time interacting with customers at a counter. As a chef, there was nothing better than directly seeing a customer's reaction. 15 years has since passed and he has continued working as a kushiage chef.

A chef who layers the flavors of the four seasons and the encounters between people

Kojiro Kashiwada is a native of Miyazaki Prefecture in Kyushu. Because he had a dining hall for a home, he naturally chose the path of the chef. After training at a ryotei (traditional Japanese restaurant) in Osaka that specialized in catering, he worked for five years at Gyozantei in Miyazaki before moving to Tokyo in order to establish the second branch of that restaurant in the Akasaka neighborhood. He worked for about seven years at the Akasaka store before setting out on his own. It has been 16 years since he first opened Kasane.

By strictly enforcing standards of quality cultivated in the meat industry, we provide the finest quality beef.

Born in Mita city, Hyogo prefecture in 1956. He spent eight years in the meat industry, and obtained the qualification 'Diploma in Meat Technology', which is designed to ensure meat quality. He became interested in 'Mitaya' after hearing about their domestically-reared fillet steak set menu, which attracts customers to his home, Hyogo prefecture, from other parts of Japan. It was not long before he joined the company, where he is now putting the skills and experience he cultivated in the meat industry to work in his role overseeing all of their branches.

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.

Based on Italian cuisine, the chef also tries creativestyle cuisine proactively.

Born in Osaka in 1979, he has always enjoyed eating since his childhood. He started to learn cooking at a vocational school for becoming a licensed cook. He also started working part-time around then in order to enter the restaurant business. After his graduation, he worked cooking French cuisine at a hotel in Kobe and then in cooking creative-style cuisince in Tokyo. In 2012, he opened trattria e bar Buono!. Based on Italian cuisine, he is an inquirying cook who also cooks Spanish cuisine, rice omelets, and other creative-style cuisine in a proactive manner.

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

He's loved eating since early childhood! He dreamed of having his own restaurant.

When he was young, owner Hisayoshi Sugawara's favourite foods were ramen and curry rice. With the spirit of a child, he dreamed of owning his own restaurant. Since it was his favourite food, Hisayoshi was determined to make the ultimate bowl of ramen himself. Trying the ramen at various restaurants, he made continual improvements until settling on the present taste. That's the taste you can enjoy today.

Fascinated by the ingredients of Hokkaido

The chef started his career at a Japanese cuisine restaurant when he was 18 years old. After advancing his profession through experiences and training, he served as the head chef at the sister restaurant Suginome Hotel Okura Sapporo branch in 2014. Today, as the head chef of this restaurant Suginome Main branch established in 1915, he introduces the local cuisine to the guests using Hokkaido’s great ingredients such as crab and other fresh seafoods.

Passionately dedicated to the art of the grill

When he was looking for a part-time job during his student days, Mr. Hashimoto asked to come work for us at Yakitori Fukusumi. He was so drawn by the complexities of cookery, he decided to stay on with us as a chef after graduation. He has enthusiastically dedicated himself to mastering the art since then, and these days we leave the grilling up to him.

A Ginza-based Italian food evangelist who casually delights his customer's hearts and palates.

After graduating high school, he was employed at a western-style restaurant. During his six years working there, he learned the fundamentals of cooking. After working at several restaurants, he was hired at the upscale Italian establishment, Trattoria Baffo, in Aoyama. During those eight years of work, he studied abroad in places such as Rome and Verona in order to learn the authentic taste and culture of Italy. In 2002, he opened Tratorria Baffo. Regarding Tsukiji's ingredients as "his ground", he continues to provide distinctive Italian cooking in the Ginza.

Just how it is in Spain. Savor true Spanish cooking.

Born in Barcelona, Spain. Her family runs a restauraunt for over 100 years since her grandfather's generation. Since much of Spanish cooking in Japan is adapted to the Japanese palate, she opened a restaurant to offer the true flavors of Spain. She offers the authentic taste she's been familiar with from an early age. Every year, when she returns to her country, she learns a dish that is trending in Spain. New flavors appear in the menu right away.

With a desire to let everyone know the magnificence of Italian cuisine

Born in Tokyo, 1968. Dut to his love of pasta, he worked toward becoming an Italian chef after graduating culinary school. After training at Tokyo's [Ristorante Carmine], he traveled to South Italy. He further improved his skills at Sicilia's famous [Ristorante Unico], and was appointed as chef at [Tante Grazie] after returning to Japan. He explains that he gets hints of inspiration for his creations by communicating with his customers.

40 years of following in his father's footsteps.

Born in Osaka Prefecture, in 1946. In 1956, his father opened the Yakiniku Heiwa grilled meat restaurant. From an early age, he saw his father dedicating himself entirely to the art of grilled meat, and naturally developed an interest in the subject himself. He started by helping out in the restaurant, before finally taking up the torch himself as its second-generation restaurateur.

Nothing says Sendai like gyutan (beef tongue)!

Nothing says Sendai like gyutan (beef tongue)! Interested in local ingredients, he took a job at Rikyu where he is now in charge of the grill. His motto is to take high quality ingredients and carefully grill them to perfection. "Grilling gyutan is fairly straightforward, and yet the flavor differs with each chef. I find that fascinating," Takashi remarks, as he affectionately tends the grill.

This chef decided to devote his life to cooking after meeting the president of the company.

After meeting the president of Sanin Sakaba Kamiari, Chef Inoue was startled by the extent to which they shared the same thinking and decided to move from an unrelated industry to become a chef. His eyes shine as he tells us how fun it is for him to receive direct, positive feedback from customers. He also feels that this work, where he gives shape to his own ideas with the design of the menu and flavoring of the food, has real meaning. Each day he works to continue to produce delicious food.

A part-time job was his chance to enter the restaurant industry, where he had always wanted to work

He wants as many people as possible to taste the deliciousness of gyutan (beef tongue). With this goal in mind, every day he focuses all his attention on grilling the meat to just the right degree. His biggest source of energy is hearing departing customers say that the food was delicious.

A chef who switched over to the culinary world with wholehearted resolve.

Shintaro was born in August 1988 in Nakaotagiri, Nagano Prefecture. He used to work in a different industry, but he switched to the culinary world with wholehearted resolve. Since he began cooking at Tenku no Tsuki, he has pursued daily training under the tutelage of his teacher, Chef Watanabe.