Hiroki Abe

Coming Up

Sushi-counter training in Fukuoka, Japan, put the fundamentals first: clean preparation, controlled movement, timing, and restraint in front of guests. Hiroki Abe learned that work as a kitchen worker at his father's sushi restaurant, where service made the craft visible and every gesture had consequence. Japanese cooking carried into New York City through a larger service model at EN Japanese Brasserie / En Brasserie in New York City (until 2019). As Executive Chef, Hiroki Abe worked within a register that required precision, adaptability, and hospitality while keeping the center on seasonality, clarity, and the presentation of Japanese culture through food. The West Coast period at Chateau Hanare in West Hollywood, Los Angeles (2018–2019) extended that practice into another dining context. As Executive Chef, Hiroki Abe kept the emphasis on Japanese culinary forms and on ingredient-led cooking rather than overstatement. The later move back to New York City, as Fourth Head Chef at Kajitsu in New York City, placed his work in direct contact with Shojin Ryori and the disciplined structure of plant-forward Japanese cooking. The current practice combines private service Through Abe's Kitchen with the composed, seasonal language of kaiseki at Jō.

Where They Are Now

Private cooking changes the chef’s tolerances. Through Abe's Kitchen, Hiroki Abe works in a format built around the occasion, the guest, and what is fresh enough to carry the menu. The discipline is not scale but fit: courses shaped to the setting, service calibrated closely, and hospitality measured from first impression to final bite. Kaiseki cuisine at Jō in New York City asks for architecture as much as execution. In that context, Hiroki Abe works with progression, balance, contrast, and restraint: how one course prepares the next, how texture follows texture, and how temperature, aroma, and color carry the meal forward. His broader specialty includes kappo and cha-kaiseki cuisine as well, forms that depend on close observation and an understanding of how ceremony and appetite meet at the table. Japanese cuisine functions here as craft and cultural transmission. In Hiroki Abe’s work, ingredients, technique, and seasonality are asked to carry meaning. The market remains part of the process: a place to choose fresh, seasonal ingredients and to read what can best express the moment through Japanese cooking.

Signature

Hiroki's signature dishes include sesame tofu, Hinamatsuri Bento, BRAISED & CHILLED SALMON JERKY, and NAPA CABBAGE & FRIED TOFU SKIN. Sesame tofu puts texture and balance under scrutiny. Hinamatsuri Bento works through season, arrangement, and celebration within the Japanese bento form. BRAISED & CHILLED SALMON JERKY, NAPA CABBAGE & FRIED TOFU SKIN uses contrast—cool and savory, soft and crisp, delicate and deep—inside a composed dish.

In Their Words “I feel purpose working in Japanese cuisine, if it means non Japanese [people] abroad can experience the goodness and richness of the culture.” “As for produce, I go to the market and choose fresh, seasonal ingredients that can showcase Japanese culture.”

Honors

Hiroki's honors include Michelin star for Shojin Ryori menu at Kajitsu.