Chef
Takanori Akiyama
- Discipline
- Chef
i. Biography
Born into a family of sushi chefs in Miyazaki, Japan, Takanori Akiyama brought that lineage to New York and built it into a career defined by sequence, restraint, and placement. The progression is legible in the dates: SakaMai in 2012, Tsukimi in 2019, and Bar Moga in SoHo now. Each stop adds responsibility without breaking from the same core discipline.
The Path
Training in Tokyo gave Takanori Akiyama the base that later supports his New York work. The record is straightforward: Executive Chef at SakaMai since 2012, then Executive Chef/owner at Tsukimi since 2019. The titles matter here because they show a chef moving from kitchen leadership into ownership without leaving the form that shaped his cooking.
The Work Today
The present work is built on continuity rather than reinvention. At SakaMai, Takanori Akiyama has held the Executive Chef role since 2012, giving his New York practice a long Lower East Side anchor. At Tsukimi, where he has served as Executive Chef/Owner since 2019, the tasting-menu format carries his kaiseki specialty in a modern frame with bold flavor. Across those Manhattan addresses, the craft stays close to kaiseki’s working logic: sequence, contrast, and interpretation. The movement is not away from the tradition, but further into what it can hold inside New York kitchens.
Career - Executive Chef — SakaMai, Lower East Side, New York (2012–present) - Executive Chef/Owner — Tsukimi, East Village, New York (2019–present) Education: Tokyo
Acclaim
The clearest markers in Takanori Akiyama’s record are the appointments themselves: Executive Chef at SakaMai in 2012, Executive Chef/Owner at Tsukimi in 2019, and chef of Bar Moga in SoHo. Those roles map a steady increase in responsibility, from running a kitchen to owning the venue where his tasting-menu language is most fully defined. Recognition here comes from duration, repetition, and a specialty with its own grammar.
FAQ What is Takanori Akiyama known for? Kaiseki cuisine.
