Chef
Shuichi Kotani
- Discipline
- Chef
- Based in
- New York City, New York, United States
i. Biography
Soba, in Shuichi Kotani’s work, is treated as a primary craft rather than a supporting course. The discipline is buckwheat handled daily by hand: 100% buckwheat, gluten-free noodles made at Uzuki in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, with the noodle carrying the meal’s structure, aroma, and nutritional argument. The lineage runs from restaurant labor in Hyogo Prefecture through soba kitchens in Yokohama and Tokyo, then into New York, where the work has had to hold its form in a different market without giving up its center.
Coming Up
Restaurant labor formed the base before soba became the explicit discipline. In Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, Shuichi Kotani worked as a restaurant worker at local restaurant before moving to Tokyo as a no-pay intern at architectural designer’s office. That architectural interval matters only insofar as soba also depends on structure, proportion, and repeatable handling: flour, water, pressure, timing, and cut have little room for correction once the dough is moving. Formal soba work entered through Kyorinbo / Soba Kaiseki Kyourinbou in Yokohama, where Shuichi Kotani trained as a soba-making trainee / restaurant worker. The progression continued through restaurant worker roles at Soba Restaurant Kudan Issa-an in Tokyo, Global Dining Gonpachi in Tokyo, and Edo Soba Hosokawa in Tokyo. Across those rooms, the craft accumulated in practical units: service rhythm, mise en place, buckwheat handling, and the restraint required to make noodles that hold together and carry their own flavor. New York placed the soba craft into a faster, less protected dining context. In Manhattan, New York, Shuichi Kotani worked as executive chef at Soba Totto in Manhattan, New York (from 2008), while also working as soba noodle supplier / chef at Kibo in New York (from 2008). The work there was not only production; it was translation, keeping soba legible to guests while preserving the noodle as the main subject. Institutional work extended the same buckwheat practice beyond one kitchen. Shuichi Kotani is founder and ceo of Worldwide-Soba, Inc. (since 2012), founder and ceo of Worldwide-Soba Japan, Inc., partner of Worldwide-Soba, Asia, director of All Japan Food Association (AJFA), founder of NPO New York Japanese Culinary Academy, Inc., and director of New York World Washoku Challenge. Those roles keep the focus on soba as material, technique, and education rather than as a single restaurant format.
Where They Are Now
The current base for the work is Worldwide-Soba, Inc.; Shuichi Kotani is founder and CEO of Worldwide-Soba, Inc. In New York, NY. Uzuki, opened in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, in September 2023, gives the soba craft a public counterpoint to that organizational work. The house specialty is authentic handcrafted soba: 100% buckwheat noodles, gluten-free and made by hand daily. The focus is deliberately narrow, asking the diner to read buckwheat through texture, aroma, and finish rather than through garnish or excess. Buckwheat is carried across the menu as a full ingredient system, from toasted seeds to fresh noodles and ice cream.
Signature
Signature dishes include 100% buckwheat noodles at Uzuki.
Honors
Recognition includes Goodwill Ambassador.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Shuichi
What is Shuichi Kotani's current position?
Shuichi Kotani is master soba chef at Uzuki.
Where did Shuichi Kotani work before?
Earlier in their career, Shuichi Kotani worked at local restaurant, architectural designer’s office, and Kyorinbo / Soba Kaiseki Kyourinbou.
What recognition has Shuichi Kotani received?
Goodwill Ambassador.
