SHINICHI YOSHIDA - Chef Instructor
Originally from Kyushu, Yoshida has over 50 years of cooking experience in the Japanese culinary arts.
He started his carrier at the legendary restaurant Izui (now closed) to master fine cuisine, then moved to the two Michelin star Daigo where he trained in Shojin Ryori (Buddhist-style Vegetarian Cuisine). He opened his own restaurant Ichibancho-Yoshida where he featured fine Japanese dishes and soba noodles, and catered to a long list of Japanese celebrities and VIP clients.
After retiring, Yoshida transitioned to teaching. He enjoys sharing his knowledge and expertise with young chefs eager to elevate their cooking skills, home cooks, and restaurant staff members wishing to enhance their techniques and menus. Yoshida also supervises new restaurant kitchens and develops food products for high-end department stores.
At TOKYO COOK, Yoshida is the main chef instructor. Staff and students alike are inspired by his great passion for Japanese gastronomy and its rich history.
Shinichi Yoshida
YOKO GOTO – Instructor
A Tokyo native, Yoko is Tokyo Cook’s in-house cooking instructor, wine sommelier and expert on Japanese fresh food markets and seasonal produce. Certified as a specialist "food coordinator", a highly-regarded Japanese culinary qualification, Yoko trained at Tokyo’s Yanagihara School of Traditional Japanese Cuisine in a food art form known as “kinsa-ryu”. This is a cooking discipline which focuses on the techniques of the Edo period, and places importance on the not only the way knives and vessels are handled, but also on how ingredients are treated and utilized according to the seasons.
Yoko Goto
DAISUKE NOMURA – Chef Instructor
Originally from Tokyo, Chef Nomura grew up in his father’s kitchen, training at the esteemed Daigo, a Tokyo shojin ryori (Buddhist-style Vegetarian Cuisine) restaurant. He then went out on his own with a mission to modernize and innovate this cuisine steeped in tradition. Now Nomura is internationally known for his own award-winning multi-dish kaiseki vegetarian cuisine at his Roppongi, Tokyo restaurant SOUGO. Here shojin ryori is prepared in a more relaxed atmosphere with an eye to the future. Ingredients from other disciplines are also incorporated into Nomura’s lunch and dinner menus. He is particularly keen to also teach shojin ryori to foreigners in Japan and abroad, and is often featured at international food events and cultural exchange programs, including EXPO Milano, Worlds of Flavor and the Culinary Institute of America.
Daisuke Nomura
HITOSHI ARAI – Chef Instructor
A central Tokyo native, Chef Arai is executive chef/owner of Tenko, a 12 seat Tokyo tempura restaurant, known for its excellent feather-light batter. It is located inside a former geisha house in the historic Kagurazaka district. Arai is dedicated to promoting Tokyo's edomae-style (Edo is present day Tokyo) food around the world. He is often asked to serve his special tempura at Japanese state dinners and banquets for honored overseas guests.
Hitoshi Arai Courtesy of Tenko
CHEF OKADA – Chef Instructor
Chef Okada is the fourth-generation sushi chef of Ginza Sushi-ko. One of the eldest sushi restaurants in the Ginza district of Tokyo, it boasts more than 130 years of history.
Ginza has been always been a leading district known for its refined culture and luxury; it is an area synonymous with elegance and quality. Sushi-ko has long been a fixture of this neighborhood, loved by both local Japanese and celebrities. Now more than ever, as more flashy and modern techniques are adopted around the world, Chef Okada is keen to carry on the traditions of Edomae (Tokyo style) sushi.
Chef Okada
SHIZUKA WAKASHITA - Sake Instructor
Shizuka Wakashita is a Global Business Consultant based in Tokyo with in-depth food & beverage knowledge bridging Japan and the United States. “Taking good things from Japan overseas, and bringing good things from abroad to Japan” is her mantra. Wakashita is a Japanese representative for overseas companies and NPO offices, and is a Japan-based project manager. Since 2010 she is a liaison manager for a prominent sake importer in New York, and since 2013 represents Japan for a wine trade association. Accreditation: SSI Kikizakeshi, J.S.A. Sake Diploma, WSET Level 3 Award in Wines.
Shizuka Wakashita
KAZUMI MASUDA – Founder, CEO
After a successful career in financial management and business development, Kazumi Masuda pivoted to gastronomy, founding and launching TOKYO COOK in 2014. Masuda is a big believer in the power of food to bring cooks (and eaters!) together around a table to learn about other cuisines, ideas and cultures. Masuda speaks excellent English - having lived in the United States as a young woman - and is highly knowledgeable about Japan’s culinary world. Her insider tips and expertise enrich not only her clients’ experience at TOKYO COOK, but also their travels throughout Japan.
Kazumi Masuda