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Natsuko Shoji has been named Asia’s Best Female Chef ahead of the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants awards ceremony, sponsored by S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna, on 29 March 2022.
Shoji is chef and owner of Été in Tokyo, a single-table restaurant and cake laboratory in the city's Shibuya neighbourhood, which she has owned since 2014, and where she was also recognised as Asia’s Best Pastry Chef in 2020.
Accepting the honour, Shoji told the 50 Best team: "I hope to be a role model to other female chefs in Japan and trust this award will motivate them to follow their passions. I would also like to honour the other chefs who have mentored me throughout my career and inspired me with their craftsmanship and artistry.”
Watch Asia's Best Female Chef 2022 in action:
Famed for her sweet creations - including a Chanel tennis racket and a Franck Muller-designed candle holder - Shoji is equally adept at savoury cooking, having honed her skills at Hiroyasu Kawate's French-inspired Florilège before going solo.
At Été, Shoji serves a 10-course sweet and savoury tasting menu showcasing some of Japan's finest ingredients, with dishes including ayu (Japanese sweetfish) reimagined as a taco; a sea urchin tart with cured egg yolk and Jinhua ham; and her ever-popular savoury mille-feuille filled with shallot mousse and gooseberry pickles, and topped with caviar.
A dish from Été
Asia's Best Female Chef Award Winners
Previous recipients of the Asia’s Best Female Chef Award include: Shanghai-based DeAille Tam (2021), Korean chef Cho Hee-sook (2020), Garima Arora (2019), Bongkoch ‘Bee’ Satongun (2018), May Chow from Hong Kong (2017), Margarita Forés of the Philippines (2016), Hong Kong’s Vicky Lau (2015), Lanshu Chen from Taiwan (2014) and inaugural winner Duangporn ‘Bo’ Songvisava from Thailand (2013).
