Ryuta Iizuka wanted to become a chef from his elementary school days. With both parents busy in the family kimono store, he was forced to do some of the cooking, but rather than feeling burdened by the task, Iizuka was fascinated. Growing up, he loved his grandmother’s western-style creations like hamburger steaks and creamy macaroni. These were especially appealing as, due to his mother’s dietary restrictions, they never appeared at his family table. Iizuka joined Tsuji Culinary School after graduating from high school and began his hands-on training as a chef at the Hotel Okura Tokyo Bay, making everything from fried rice to curries, developing a very broad base and acquiring the fundamentals of various world cuisines. Having proved himself after working in three different hotels, in 1994, Iizuka was hired into the kitchens of Taillevent, the first foray in Japan by world-renowned chef Joël Robuchon. Yearning for a deeper understanding of French cuisine, Iizuka apprenticed at Michelin-star restaurants in France, such as Troisgros, and dined at 27 mostly Michelin-starred restaurants in just two months as he journeyed around France. He returned to Japan and eventually led the kitchen of L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon to two Michelin stars of their own.

There was a moment in Iizuka’s career when he realized how essential the Japanese approach to cooking is. Whereas French cuisine plays close attention to the heating method, layers of flavors and elaborate sauces, the skilled knifework yielding perfectly textured squid, for example, can constitute ‘cooking’ in Japanese cuisine. He was shocked to find that flavors and textures are not only influenced by the quality of the ingredients, but that a knife has the power to further transform them. This is the moment that led him to trade some of the double-edged knives he had grown accustomed to for the single-blade Japanese-style knives, which he now believes can truly bring out the best in certain ingredients. It also sparked an interest within Iizuka to return to his Japanese roots.

With the opening of his own restaurant Ryuzu, 2011 marked a brand new beginning for Iizuka. A former Robuchon prodigy, Iizuka feels an enormous sense of freedom now that he is on his own. Free to use whatever ingredients he chooses, Iizuka can infuse his cuisine with a stronger sense of wa – the distinctive Japanese quality that was missing before – and to exhibit more seasonality, which is so integral to traditional Japanese cuisine.

VISION
Chef Iizuka believes in paying his staff fairly for their hard work and raising them into the chefs of the future. He is very much aware that more than simply being the chef, he is the head of an organization, and it needs to have a properly structured and fair working environment. He wants to see everyone happy and would be delighted if some of his chefs make a name for themselves going forward.