i. Biography
Cooking in Tokyo has room for a loose grammar when the fundamentals are held tight. In Hidehito Hirayama’s work, the line runs from Ristorante TOKUYOSHI to ALTER EGO in Jimbocho, where pasta, soup pairing, charcoal-grilled duck, and Japanese ingredients are handled through a Mediterranean frame without being locked into fixed categories. Since 2019, he has been head chef / executive chef at ALTER EGO in Jimbocho.
Formation
A sous-chef post at Ristorante TOKUYOSHI is a training ground in repetition, attention, and control. Hidehito Hirayama built his early craft there, in a kitchen where precision functions as the base condition of the work rather than a finishing detail. That discipline remains visible in cooking that is measured and exacting without becoming only technical. Leadership at ALTER EGO in Tokyo shifted the work from executing within an established kitchen discipline to setting the terms of a personal Italian language. In Jimbocho, Hirayama’s cooking treats classic form as a working structure for Japanese ingredients, familiar shapes, and unexpected arrivals at the table. The useful tension is not between borders, but between reference and application.
The Work Today
Creative cooking at ALTER EGO is built through the balance of Japanese ingredients and Italian tradition. In Hirayama’s hands, those ingredients are not garnish, and that tradition is not treated as display. Each is used for structure, lift, and contrast inside the same plate and across the meal. Duck is handled with clear reference points. Aomori duck is charcoal-grilled and served with balsamic reduction, placing smoke and sweetness in a controlled line. Minced duck is grilled on a skewer like a tsukune meatball and drizzled with balsamic glaze, allowing a Japanese format and a condiment from that repertoire to work side by side without either being erased. Soup pairing is one of the restaurant’s defining methods. An ingredient is made into a soup or juice and served with other dishes, so flavor is carried across the table rather than contained plate by plate. The method builds overlap and balance, letting a meal at ALTER EGO develop through return and echo rather than isolated compositions.
Accolades
Discipline from a demanding Italian kitchen and the looser application required in Tokyo come together at ALTER EGO. Hidehito Hirayama’s recognition sits in that working space: Italian tradition used as frame, Japanese ingredients used as material, and technique kept close enough to let both remain legible.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Hidehito
What is Hidehito Hirayama's current position?
Hidehito Hirayama is chef at ALTER EGO — Italian.
Where did Hidehito Hirayama work before?
Earlier in their career, Hidehito Hirayama worked at Ristorante TOKUYOSHI and ALTER EGO.
What is Hidehito Hirayama known for?
Pasta; Star Wine List describes Hirayama as “a wizard with pasta.”.
