Chef
Kunio Tokuoka
Executive Chef, Kyoto Kitcho Arashiyama
- Discipline
- Chef
- Based in
- Kyoto, Japan
Known for
- Modern kaiseki at Kyoto Kitcho Arashiyama
- Three Michelin stars for Kyoto Kitcho Arashiyama
- First Japanese chef selected for James Beard Award 2008
i. Biography
Kunio Tokuoka, born in 1960 in Osaka, Japan, is the grandson of Kitcho founder Teiichi Yuki and has served as Executive Chef of Kyoto Kitcho Arashiyama since 1995, elevating the restaurant to three Michelin stars maintained for multiple years. He became President and CEO of KYOTO KITCHO Co., Ltd. in 2009, overseeing the company's operations while continuing to innovate kaiseki cuisine blending Kyoto tradition with contemporary techniques. Under his leadership, the restaurant earned the 2024 Luxury Japan Award 'Restaurant of the Year' and he became the first Japanese chef selected for a James Beard Award in 2008.
Profile updated April 2026
