Kenji Yamanaka

The Path

Training at Georges Blanc Parc & Spa and L'Osier Tokyo placed Kenji Yamanaka inside two kitchens known for exacting standards. Those rooms shaped the measured pace, careful preparation, and constant attention to detail that define fine dining work. The lesson was practical: discipline held day after day, not as theory but as routine.

The Work Today

Viridis in Fukuoka is the current kitchen, where Yamanaka serves as Executive Sous Chef and Chef de Cuisine. The role combines support and authorship, with the structure of an Executive Sous Chef joined to the direct voice of a Chef de Cuisine. It is a position that demands both orchestration and execution. The cooking stays at the meeting point of French structure and Japanese seasonality. Yamanaka’s specialty is French-Japanese fusion cuisine, and the dishes give that claim its shape. The plates lean toward clarity, with two culinary languages working in the same register rather than competing for it. Hokkaido scallops come with delicate vegetable foams, keeping seafood, texture, and restraint in balance. Suruga Bay red snapper is set alongside seasonal Japanese vegetables, tying the fish to the calendar. Baba cake is infused with Japanese Hibiki whiskey and served with yuzu ice cream, where a French form meets Japanese aroma and acidity.

Signature

Kenji's signature dishes include Ozaki A5 Wagyu, Hokkaido scallops with delicate vegetable foams, Suruga Bay red snapper paired with seasonal Japanese vegetables, and Buri Daikon.

In Their Words “During my time in Singapore, I devoted myself to promoting the allure of Japanese culture and cuisine to international audiences.”

Acclaim

Recognition for Yamanaka sits in the way the cooking carries Japanese ingredients and French-Japanese fusion cuisine into an international room without losing precision. The Singapore years matter because they show the work as introduction as much as preparation: cuisine used to make culture legible to guests who arrived from beyond Japan. From Fukuoka, the thread remains continuous. Béni and RESTAURANT beni gave the Singapore platform; Viridis holds the present expression of that line, where the earlier influences remain active in a kitchen shaped by exchange, discipline, and control.