Chefs Meet Chef in Shujis' Kitchen

Shuji offers a 10-day intensive course for professional chefs and owner-chefs. (Please note that Shuji is currently unable to offer this course due to the pandemic.)

1. You will be able to acquire the foundation of traditional Japanese cuisine, 一汁三菜 ichijiu sansai meal which has been enjoyed by the Japanese for over one thousand years. This dinner meal consisted of one soup dish, one boiled rice dish and three complementing seasonal dishes during the workshop. However, in the past this meal often has ended up with four or five complementing dishes. Please tell Shuji in advance, if you are allergic to any particular food.

1. Upon your arrival at Ozeki Cooking School, Shuji will ask you if you would like to make any particular Japanese dishes. Shuji normally makes suggestions. When we go to the local fish and vegetable markets to buy some fresh seafood and locally grown vegetables, often Shuji and the participant(s) will be inspired to make a few additional dishes.

1. Shuji's Soba Restaurant Yamakyu is closed on Tuesdays. He also offers aikido classes to the local children and adults on Wednesday evenings. On Wednesdays, we can do our cooking class/lunch from 10am until about 2-3pm.

1. Together with Shuji you will get to prepare and have lunch at soba noodle (buck wheat) restaurant Yamakyu run by the Ozekis. We ask you to come to our restaurant at 10 or 11am. If you turn up at 10am, you will get to see how Shuji makes soba noodles from scratch in half an hour. You get to have a Siesta from about 2pm until 4pm. Workshop/dinner begins at 4m and ends about 8-9pm. There are some good restaurants such as chargrilled Wagyu beef pub, chargrilled unagi-eel, sushi, izakaya and ramen & yakisoba in town whenever you wish to try some.

1. There may be an occasion where other participants hoping to join in your workshops during your extended workshops. Shuji will ask you if you wish to keep your workshops private, or you do not mind them joining you before or after your arrival in his kitchen.

1. The total cost is 300,000 yen per person, inclusive of coaching fee, lunch, dinner, all materials, comprehensive recipes (to be sent to you via email), transport to and from the local fish and vegetable markets and other traditional cultural activities within Seki City and tax. Beverage is not included in the price.

1. Method of payment: Due to extensive preparations involved in planning culinary workshops and cultural outings if requested in advance, Shuji asks for a 50% deposit to be paid one week before the workshop's start date. Deposits can be paid via PayPal by following the secure link published on his website. The balance is payable upon arrival in Seki in Japanese yen. As PayPal charges 4% transaction fee, we would appreciate it if you could add the fee to your deposit.

1. If necessary, Shuji is happy to talk with you via skype (shujiozeki1) , FaceTime or WhatsApp (+81 90 5636 3669) to help plan your culinary cultural visit to Ozeki Cooking School and Soba Noodle Restaurant Yamakyu.

What the experienced chefs  and owner chefs have commented on their culinary experiences with Chef Shuji.

Awesome Experience! Will be back in the future for more Japanese cuisine. Learnt to cook and ate amazing Food, Noodles and Sushi! Everything was excellent.     Chris Sutherland, Sydney, Australia   19-26 June 2017

Chef Chris, Jessica from Hawaii currently residing in Nagoya and Shuji toast to our successfully made udon noodles and tempura dinner.

Chef Chris Sutherland works on a 39m yacht based in Sydney, Australia. He visited Japan for the first time to meet Chef Shuji Ozeki and to learn Japanese cuisine for 7 days.

Nous vons remercions pour vos travails avec nuns. C’est un experience manifique. On apprends beaucoup avec Chef Shuji. Encore un gross merci a vous! Bises! 

Songhe Lin & Haimin Zhang,  　15-16 February 2016

In 2016, Yagi and his wife Haimin, The Owner Chef and the manager at a sushi-izakaya restaurant Namur Ogawa and a ramen restaurant Sanga in Namur, Belgium. They visited Japan for the first time to learn the advanced skills and knowledge of Japanese cuisine from Chef Shuji. They invited Shuji to visit their restaurants in the near future.

May 2018 as promised, Shuji visited them at Namur Ogawa. He spent five days staying at their house and worked four days with Yagi at his two Japanese restaurants.  Teamed up with Yagi and his team Shuji cooked five-course Japanese dinner for 70 guests.  Shuji also showed the diners how to make soba noodles from scratch and cooked soba noodles with duck fillet in dipping sauce (kamo-seiro) for 30 guests at Yagi's other restaurant Sanga, a ramen noodle restaurant.

Shuji will once again return to Yagi’s restaurants in 2020. Unfortunately, Shuji did not make it due to the pandemic.

Shuji will return to Namur Ogawa when the situation returns to normal and safe.

It was a big pleasure to work with you for 4 days. Amazing food, incredible place, but the most importantly meeting you and your mother. You are a great teacher! Thank you very much!!

Alex Juncosa, Barcelona, Spain        19-23 April 2016

Chef Alex Juncosa was introduced to Shuji’s Kitchen by his friend Chef Derek Allmoes, owner at The Blind Finch, Humburgeria, New Zealand. Derek visited Shuji’s and undertook Kaiseki cuisine in 2014.

Shuji-san, I had a wonderful time with you and your mother. I learnt a lot from you. Thanks for showing me Japanese cooking and good cooking habits. I hope this will not be the last time I see you. Thank for your patience, kindness and fun. Regards,    

Erika Gordillo 　16-18 October 2016        

Chef Erika Gordillo runs “Yogifood” www.yogifood.ch in Geneva, Switzerland. She learnt to make Shojin-Zen bento, authentic Japanese cuisine and Sushi. She also enjoyed slurping Chef Shuji’s handmade soba noodles with tempura at his Soba Restaurant Yamakyu.

Thank you Shuji San for sharing your knowledge. As we said earlier; “A life time may not be enough to learn Kaiseki.” But we have to start somewhere and thank you for helping me with that. My family and I have been very pleased to meet you and Okaa-san, thank you.

 Dwij, Ben & Ema　14-15 October 2016

An experienced Chef Benoit runs a restaurant “E.S.T.(Eat, Share and Travel) Bento べんとう” on Reunion Island. It took Benoit and his family three days to reach Shuji’ Kitchen from their restaurant/home. He is determined to improve his skills in authentic Japanese cuisine.  Thanks to Chef Benoit and his family for coming all the way from Reunion Island in The Indian Ocean. 

コメント挿入

Washoku, authentic Japanese cuisine was created by the Spanish chefs and their friends in Ozeki's Kitchen.

Apprentice cook Lucia,Fran, Ana and Ivan, Madrid, Spain            　　　　　　　　　　22 June 2015

To Flying Chef Shuji Ozeki, Thank you so much for an unforgettable experience! It was wonderful spending time with you in your kitchen. You are doing an amazing thing here. Keep up a good work!  Thank you again!

Chef Issac Bloom      Chicago, USA             10-14 August 201

Chef Issac is glazing the fish.

Chef Issac and Lufthansa German Airlines co-pilot and cabin crews enjoy their own creations of Washoku lunch.

To add what Vincent commented in French on his visit to Shuji's kitchen! 

Chef Vincent learns to make soba noodles at Shuji’s Soba Restaurant Yamakyu in Seki City, Gifu Prefecture, Japan.    

Flying Chef Shuji Ozeki with French Chef Vincent Garcia, his wife Adline and their daughter at Pastis, Berlin, Germany.

https://restaurant-pastis.de/

in August French Chef Vincent Garcia visited Chef Shuji’s kitchen in Japan. In October Shuji visited Vincent at his restaurant Pastis where Shuji, Vincent and his team cooked 5 course French-Japanese collaborated dinner for 100 dinner guests including The Japanese Ambassador to Berlin Mr.Takeshi Nakane and his wife.          21-22 August 2015

Dear Chef Shuji-san, we loved spending some time in your kitchen with you and your mom. We hope to see you in Tokyo. Otherwise we will organize a new trip to せきしにしまちNishimachi, Seki City. Thank you so much!

ありがとうございます！ マリナ & フィデ　

Both Marina Villa and her husband Federico Heinzmann as a Chef de Cuisine, work at New York Grill & Bar, Park Hyatt Tokyo. Marina had arranged a mystery tour to Chef Shuji’s kitchen to celebrate her husband’s birthday and they made bento dinner and enjoyed Ukai, cormorant fishing at Oze, Nagaragawa River.           13-14 September 2015

Dear Chef Shuji, It was a wonderful week to work and cook with you and your amazing mum and dad. Thank you for wonderful time and hope to see you again!  Chef Ido Segevfrom Israel           16-19 October 2015

 Dear Chef Shuji! Thank you so much for the two days I spent with you! It was a great experience and I will come back for sure. I hope to see you in Germany and wish you all the best!  Sebastian Sandor 24-25 October 2015

Thank you Shuji for such an inspirational day, showing me the craft you have spent your career to date perfecting. I am most grateful for the extra mile you went to accommodate my desire to learn as much as possible in the short time I had with you. You truly out did yourself. The proof is in the eating!! I will be back. 22 November 2014

Derek Allomes, owner chef at The Blind Finch, Humburgeria, New Zealand http://www.theblindfinch.co.nz/

 Dear Sensei,

Thank you so much for taking care of us in our visit to your beautiful country. Your food is delicious and your family hospitality is wonderful. Thank you and see you in Australia.

Alfonso is one of Shuji’s aikido students in Australia and also an owner chef of Anchorage Restaurant and Hotel, Victor Harbor, South Australia

Chef Alfonso, Rebecca, their daughter Sophia Ales        26-27 March 2013