Let us introduce you to the convivial new Executive Chef of the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, as of April 1st, the extraordinary cuisinier Yu Sugimoto, conspicuously a very young 38 years old and already an accomplished star chef with abundant experience in some of the world's most celebrated kitchens. Sugimoto is one of the youngest Executive Chefs in the 130 year history of the hotel, and an aficionado of fine Burgundy wines.

Sugimoto joined Imperial Hotel, Ltd. in 1999. In 2004, Sugimoto left Japan for France, where he was employed for some 13 years among the best of the best: Michelin-starred restaurants in Brittany, the fabled Hotel Le Meurice in Paris, and with culinary luminaries such as Yannick Alleno and Alain Ducasse. After stints as Executive Chef of Restaurant L'Esperance in Burgundy in 2014 and at The Square Restaurant in London in 2016, Sugimoto decided to devote more interest to a city famous around the globe for its epicurean excellence - the multi-Michelin starred metropolis of Tokyo. Having been awarded the prestigious title of 62eme Prix Culinaire Prosper Montagne as the first Japanese to hold the title, and winning the 2012 Le Taittinger Prix Culinaire in France, he returned to Tokyo and we immediately swept him back into our net.

Sugimoto's day in the Imperial Hotel starts with a tour of the kitchens. At the Parkside Diner, he checks among other things the quality of the Valencia orange juice. He confers with the chefs in all of the hotel's restaurants and goes on to greet the Concierge, whom he refers to as the "face of the hotel". He exchanges information with the Concierge about feedback from the guests about dining and advises the Concierge on new products he has created. He is responsible for new wedding reception menus, featured dishes at the hotel's popular La Brasserie, and new items for the banquet menus used throughout the hotel.