Zeniya’s executive chef is Shinichiro Takagi, a man who studied abroad in the U.S. as a high school student, studied marketing at university, and was contemplating hotel management, when his life took an unexpected turn. There had never been any discussion of him taking over the family business, on the contrary perhaps his father was always trying to shield him from the hardship of the role, but tragedy in the untimely death of his father and Zeniya’s owner, Nobu Takagi, put Shinichiro on the trajectory to becoming Zeniya’s chef.

Shinichiro’s younger brother was headed to culinary school, but the need was more urgent, and after graduation from university a family friend set Shinichiro up with an interview at Kyoto Kitcho, one of Japan’s premier kaiseki restaurants. Lost at first, not only in the culinary sense, but with no clue on the local Kyoto dialect, his perseverance and quiet accumulation of experiences earned him recognition as being able to care for his guests every need. In 1997, Shinichiro returned to Kanazawa and the kitchens of Zeniya, but was confronted with a challenging environment as the least experienced chef. And having never tasted his father’s cuisine, he didn’t know where to start. A few years later during the search for a new head chef, he was once again nudged by a family friend and mentor chef into taking the role himself at just 32 years old. For the first time ever, he went to the market and created his own menu. He threw all his efforts into finding a signature dish and implementing his own style in keeping with modern tastes.

While Shinichiro remains the executive chef, a busy overseas schedule means that the kitchen is now in the capable hands of his younger brother Jiro. When Nobu Takagi founded Zeniya in 1970 in Kanazawa, he named it after Gohei Zeniya, a late Edo Period shipping and trading merchant in charge of sea routes connecting the Sea of Japan with Russia and North America. Nobu would surely feel proud to see how his son has followed in the footsteps of the restaurant’s namesake, an ambassador connecting the cultures and ingredients of the countries of the region. Shinichiro takes his skills and knowledge out into the world to share how people can use their local produce to create Japanese foods that are fulfilling for the body and the soul. With proficient English and a passion for sharing Ishikawa Prefecture’s food culture and his own cuisine, Shinichiro has been invited to serve as chef at countless VIP dinners, including a highly-acclaimed dinner party for the Consulate General of Japan in New York, international film festivals and food summits. Travelling regularly, Shinichiro welcomes time at home in Kanazawa, and relishes the moments standing in the local market or at the counter at Zeniya.

VISION
Takagi believes strongly that one key to understanding mankind is through cuisine and culinary customs. He finds great satisfaction in gaining insight and coming together around food, regardless of ethnic or language differences. And he has a passion for doing things that others are not. Thus, the vision, which he has clearly already started living, entails travelling the world, using local ingredients to create Japanese cuisine.