Earlier this year, Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants crowned chef-owner Natsuko Shoji of Été (Tokyo, Japan) as the 2022 recipient of the Asia’s Best Female Chef Award in their first ever pre-announced special awards. The restaurant ranked No.83 on the coveted list.
It has been a hard-won journey ever since Shoji’s interest in the culinary arts was piqued during her teen years after making cream puffs for a high school assignment. After graduation, she spent her formative years training under the highly acclaimed Hiroyasu Kawate of Frenchinspired Florilège (ranked No.39 in last year’s World’s 50 Best Restaurants).
In 2014, a young 24-year old