About Us

This academy is founded in 2018 September in Germany by a Japanese female entrepreneur Kazumi Wickenkamp in collaboration with a few experienced Japanese master chefs. All of the team is located across Europe and very passionate about offering the best-in-class education of Japanese cuisine for international chefs and food enthusiasts.

In March 2021, the academy received the 2nd prize in the Japanese government-led awards "Cool Japan Matching Awards". As our team & partnering companies are spread across Europe and Japan, we attended the awarding ceremony in Tokyo from many different countries remotely. We continuously strive to provide the highest level of culinary education to international talents. So, join our academy now!

Our Team

Kazumi Wickenkamp -Founder

  • Studied business in Singapore and France (MBA)
  • Worked at international companies for 10 years for business development and product management, covering the market of Japan, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa
  • Extremely passionate about food


Hideyuki Takahashi -Curriculum supervisor, Chief Chef mentor

  • 15 years at “Tokyo KITCHO” (KITCHO is a most-renowned Kaiseki, traditional Japanese cuisine, a restaurant group in Japan with three Michelin stars)
  • Sushi chef at “Shinji by KANESAKA” in Singapore (KANESAKA is a one-Michelin star sushi restaurant)
  • Former popular instructor at “Tokyo Sushi Academy” for 4 years
  • Yakitori chef (Japanese skewed BBQ, Tokyo)
  • Kitchen Management (Hong Kong)


Fumino Takahashi -Curriculum development

  • Worked at several Japanese restaurants in Tokyo
  • Trained sushi & fish skill at Tokyo Sushi Academy & world-famous Tsukiji Fish Market
  • Japanese fermented food (soy sauce, miso) specialist


Kaoru Iriyama -Chef mentor, Programme adviser

  • Trained at the culinary academy of Koyama Hirohisa, a grandmaster of Japanese cuisine.
  • Also worked in his renowned restaurant "Aoyagi“ in Tokyo.
  • Sharing her knowledge of Japanese cuisine and philosophy in Berlin and Germany as a professional cooking instructor.
  • Consultant for Japanese restaurants in Germany for the refined cooking methods of Japan and the fascinating background of Japanese culinary culture.
  • Very experienced in TV cooking shows in Germany
    (Read more about yourself: https://www.kaoru-iriyama.com/)


Anonymous chef -Curriculum supervisor, Chief Chef mentor

  • 10+ years at “Tokyo KITCHO”, a most-renowned Kaiseki (traditional Japanese cuisine) restaurant
  • Several years of experience working at other top Japanese restaurants in Tokyo
  • Former head chef at the Japanese embassy


Advisor

Hiroo Chikaraishi -External adviser

  • Hospitality consultant & expert
  • CEO at Thomas and Chikaraishi, Inc
  • President of 'Soul of Japan Foundation' which 70+ Japanese & international enterprises are members of.


Other members' info will be added soon!


Where you can find us:

Facebook: fb.me/master.jp.cuisine

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/master_jp_cuisine