Chef
Yu Kunisue
- Discipline
- Chef
- Based in
- San Francisco, California, United States
- Venue
- Shizen · Restaurant
i. Biography
Wood fire, fermentation, and kaiseki give the work at SHIZEN its working frame. In Tokyo, Yu Kunisue’s role is Executive Chef, with a practice shaped by Japanese cuisine, close control, and patience rather than display. The line of formation runs through Kaiseki Kamuro, a trainee period at Maruta in Japan, and Sakai Shokai; those kitchens remain useful context for reading the food as a study in sequence, fire, texture, ferment, and the pacing of a meal.
The Climb
Kaiseki training gives a cook a vocabulary of sequence, seasonality, restraint, and measured service. For Yu Kunisue, that foundation came at Kaiseki Kamuro, where the formal structure of Japanese cuisine provided an early point of discipline. A trainee period at Maruta in Japan added another register of craft, and time at Sakai Shokai further shaped the professional language that now informs his cooking. A career built through those rooms reads as accumulation rather than reinvention. The useful materials are pressure, precision, and the patience required by technique. In his current work at Shizen as Head Chef and Executive Chef, Yu Kunisue carries that progression into a contemporary role. The cooking does not need to announce the biography; it shows in control over fire, texture, fermentation, and the quiet pacing of the meal.
Today
At SHIZEN in Tokyo, the kitchen is described through wood fire, fermentation, Japanese culinary practices and techniques, and a nostalgic, relaxing style. Yu Kunisue works in that register as Executive Chef, using atmosphere as part of the structure rather than as decoration: ember heat, the depth of time in ferments, and familiar Japanese flavors held close to their center. The clearest technical marker is the blend of wood-fired cooking with fermentation, using cherry blossom wood from Nara and unique ferments. In Yu Kunisue’s hands, that combination sets the identity of the cooking at SHIZEN: smoke, season, savor, patience, and complexity, brought into a contemporary Japanese setting without cutting loose from kaiseki and its habits of restraint. The current practice remains anchored in Tokyo and in a language of Japanese cuisine, fire, ferment, and kaiseki. Its nostalgic and relaxing style functions as part of the meal’s architecture: deliberate, composed, and built around pacing as much as flavor.
Signature
The signature dishes map the range of the kitchen without needing ornament: Egg Custard with Crab, Saury Sashimi, Tilefish w/ Matsutake Mushrooms, Venison w/ Hen of the Woods Mushrooms, and Grilled Fig w/ Fig Leaf Ice Cream. In Yu Kunisue’s repertoire, they move from custard and crab softness to the direct cut of saury, from tilefish with matsutake to venison with hen of the Woods Mushrooms, and into a fig dessert that keeps the finish within the same seasonal register.
Recognition
Yu Kunisue has received RED U-35 / SILVER EGG (2023). Recognition here rests on specificity of practice: Japanese cuisine, wood-fired cooking, fermentation, and kaiseki. Yu Kunisue’s Executive Chef role gives those markers a defined setting, with the Tokyo kitchen shaped by cherry blossom wood from Nara and unique ferments. The craft is not a broad modern Japanese label. It is a focused practice built from wood fire, fermentation, Japanese culinary techniques, and the calm, nostalgic style associated with the cooking at SHIZEN.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Yu
What is Yu Kunisue's current role?
Yu Kunisue is Executive Chef at Shizen.
Where did Yu Kunisue work before?
Earlier in their career, Yu Kunisue worked at Kaiseki Kamuro, Maruta, and Sakai Shokai.
What is Yu Kunisue known for?
Japanese cuisine.
