GINZA TEMPURA
GINZA TEMPURA
ABOUT THE CHEF
Owner & Chef
Trained at leading hotels and long-established ryokan in Japan and abroad, and head chef in several kitchens overseas.
A half-century in Japanese cuisine, honoured as a Contemporary Master Craftsman and with the Medal with Yellow Ribbon —
a craft he now brings to the counter in Ginza 6-chome.
Meet the ingredient as it is,
refine the technique,
and serve with the whole heart.
Chef Okubo entered the profession young, earning his certificate in fugu preparation in 1975 and his cook’s licence the following year. The fifty years since have been given entirely to Japanese cuisine — at leading hotels and long-established ryokan in Japan, and at Japanese restaurants abroad. In 1992 he was named one of 2,000 North America’s Outstanding Chefs. Heading kitchens in very different climates, he has kept asking the same question: how to bring the Japanese seasons together with what a place itself provides.
In tempura, the moisture in the ingredient and the temperature of the oil decide everything. Saimaki prawns, the day’s fish and shellfish, abalone, spiny lobster — each is read as it is that day, and the thickness of the batter, the heat of the oil and the exact moment of lifting are adjusted accordingly. That is what long experience is for. Sukiyaki and shabu-shabu are prepared with A5-grade branded wagyu, and selected sake is poured alongside, so that the flavour shifts with every cup.
As a master instructor and director of the Japanese Culinary Research Society, and as a Zengiren Meister, Chef Okubo has long taught the generation coming after him. Yet once he is at the stove, it is always the guest in front of him who tells him when a dish should leave the kitchen. In a quiet, private setting in Ginza 6-chome, food, room and service are brought into one — for a seat you will want to return to.
HONOURS