Executive chef of the three-MICHELIN-star Château Restaurant Joël Robuchon in Tokyo, Japan, Kenichiro Sekiya became the first Japanese winner of the Le Taittinger Prix Culinaire International in Paris, France (2018) and, in 2023, the first non-French chef to earn the Meilleur Ouvrier de France – Cuisine title.
Born in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, Sekiya grew up among the fish markets of Funabashi. After culinary college he moved to Paris, France (2002), training at Lucas Carton and Pierre Gagnaire before joining L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon Paris in 2006. Robuchon promoted him to sous-chef at 26, praising his millimetric cooking and ethereal sauces.
Back in Tokyo in 2010, Sekiya ran L’Atelier in Roppongi, then in 2015 took command of Robuchon’s flagship château in Ebisu. There he reimagines house classics with Japanese terroir: Le Caviar Impérial seasoned with Hokkaidō kombu, foie gras glazed in Wakayama umeshu, pheasant consommé perfumed with sanshō from Kōchi.
His international breakthrough came in Paris when he won the 52nd Le Taittinger Prix Culinaire International with a kaiseki-inspired sole and Nantua dish, out-cooking seven European finalists. Four years later the MOF jury awarded him the blue-white-red collar, recognising an excellence “so rigorous it is legendary even among the French.”
Sekiya’s credo blends classical precision with local soul: Atlantic herbs become micro-shiso and kinome; Breton turbot gives way to Suruga Bay pelagic fish. “Japan must resonate in every plate without betraying Robuchon’s esprit,” he told the MICHELIN Guide. In 2024 the Tokyo Metropolitan Government appointed him Tokyo Tourism Culinary Ambassador to promote the capital’s fine-dining scene worldwide.
Beyond the château he designs “Robuchon in Flight” menus for ANA Airlines (Tokyo) and funds scholarships at his former hospitality school in Chiba. His forthcoming book explores the dialogue between Japanese umami and the French mother sauces.
