Yoyogi-Uehara Yu

If there’s one thing that chef Yusuke Imoto has learned over his illustrious culinary career, it’s that a chef isn’t necessarily an artist—they are a translator. According to Chef Imoto, the chef’s primary role is actually to translate the thoughts and feelings of the farmers, ranchers and fishermen who supply the ingredients. The best ingredients are farmed and raised with passion, he reasons. And it is his responsibility to translate this passion through his culinary technique. Said technique favors preparation methods that are lighter and gentle on the palate, so as to let guests better taste the inherent flavors of the produce, meat and fish. Most chefs take pride in sourcing ingredients from within the prefecture, but Chef Imoto goes one step further by getting the vast majority of his from the local markets in Yoyogi-Uehara, many of them his friends who have been his suppliers for many years. This practice of hyper-local sourcing was something that he observed during his Italian culinary training. Chef Imoto uses no ingredient that he hasn’t tried personally. Take, for instance, the prized Oroku sake that he pairs liberally with his menu items. Having tried a bottle once during a trip to Shimane, he fell in love with its complex flavor profile and myriad applications—and it has never left his countertop since.