June 28: Leaders’ Dinner - Chefs, Sommelier and Supervising Group
Yoshiki Tsuji - Executive Producer
The Chairman and the Head of Board of Directors of Tsuji Culinary Institute. He has served as one of the committee members for registering Japanese food as UNESCO World Intangible Cultural Heritage, playing an active role in the development of Japanese food culture. His recent keynote lecture includes the Nobel Prize Dialogue Tokyo in 2018. Recipient of Chevalier de l'ordre national du Mérite, the French National Order of Merit. Through the research on its past and current Gastronomy, Mr. Tsuji analyses the forefront of culinary arts and uses this knowledge to help nurture young professional chefs.
Tsuji Culinary Institute Group - Supervision and kitchen collaboration
The Tsuji Culinary Institute Group was founded in Osaka in 1960, and is Japan's largest integrated educational institute for the culinary arts, with six schools in Osaka, Tokyo, and France. To date, the institute has more than 140,000 alumni, many of whom are active in Japan and around the world.
Yoshihiro Narisawa - Chef
Yoshihiro Narisawa is the owner chef of restaurant "NARISAWA" in Tokyo. He is one of the first chefs in the world to introduce food linked to the conservation of nature based on the theme of "Sustainability and Gastronomy." With his motto "Evolve with the Forest", a spirit to protect the environment that produces ingredients, Narisawa continues to highlight Japan's environmental issues and continues to influence chefs around the globe. He was selected as "the most influential chef of the world" by Madrid Fusión, one of the most important gastronomic summit in the world.His restaurant has been selected as one of the World's 50 Best Restaurants for eleven consecutive years.
Seiji Yamamoto - Chef
Japan and is the owner chef of restaurant "RyuGin". RyuGin has been awarded three Michelin stars in Tokyo for eight consecutive years and has been selected as "world's Best 50 Restaurants". He has since expanded his restaurant empire, opening "Tenku RyuGin" in Hong Kong in 2012, and "Shoun RyuGin" in Taipei in 2014. His Hong Kong based restaurant also holds two Michelin stars. By participating gastronomy summit overseas, he unsparingly demonstrates the essence of Japanese cuisine through his technical expertise.
Shinya Tasaki - Sommelier
He became the first Japanese to win the Best Sommelier of the World contest in 1995 which helped to ignite tremendous popularity of wine in Japan. The recipient of Medal of Honor with Yellow Ribbon by the office Cabinet of Japan and Ordre du Mérite agricole Chevalier by The Ministry of Agriculture and Fishery of France. He is the Chairman of Japan Sommelier Association and served as the Director of Sommelier at the banquet for the Okinawa Summit in 2000 and is the executive producer of wine and beverages for G20 banquet 2019.
Tatsuhiro Takayama - Cocktail canapés
The owner chef of one Michelin star restaurant "ad hoc" in Osaka and the graduate of Tsuji Culinary Institute. At age 28, he earned his one Michelin star with his restaurant "Tout Le Monde" in Osaka.Through extensive studies on techniques, he tirelessly continues to innovate and convey his unique sense of modernism in his cuisine, utilizing a vast range of ingredients from Kansai area.
Fumi Kimura - Dining Designer
She began her career as a table top coordinator for hotels and restaurants but later expanded into consulting on space decoration and directing, working as a comprehensive food environment producer. She served as the chief dining designer at the banquet of the Okinawa Summit in 2000 and the FIFA World Cup official dinner party in 2002 at the Tokyo National Museum and is a chief dining designer for the G20 banquet.