CHEF TAKAYUKI KUMAI

LEADING THE KITCHEN IS CHEF TAKAYUKI KUMAI, WHOSE CULINARY JOURNEY BEGAN IN TOKYO’S VIBRANT DINING SCENE BEFORE TAKING HIM ACROSS ITALY, SINGAPORE, AND EVENTUALLY HONG KONG. HIS TIME IN ROME, FLORENCE, AND PALERMO SHAPED A DEEP RESPECT FOR REGIONAL ITALIAN COOKING, WHICH HE NOW REIMAGINES THROUGH THE LENS OF JAPANESE TECHNIQUE AND SENSIBILITY.

IN SICILY, HE CO-HELMED WHAT WOULD LATER BECOME A MICHELIN-STARRED RESTAURANT, WORKING ACROSS ALL DISCIPLINES—FROM BREAD TO DESSERT—WITH AN INTUITIVE COMMAND OF FLAVOUR. RETURNING TO TOKYO, CHEF TAKA LED A COUNTER-STYLE TRATTORIA IN NAKAMEGURO BEFORE MOVING TO SINGAPORE, AND LATER TO HONG KONG, WHERE HE HELMED SILVER ROOM, A CREATIVE ITALIAN CONCEPT IN A BOUTIQUE HOTEL. MOST RECENTLY, HE SPENT SIX YEARS AS PASTA CHEF AT THE ACCLAIMED CARBONE, WHERE HE HONED HIS SKILLS IN BOLD, NEW YORK–ITALIAN FLAVOURS WITH A HANDMADE ETHOS.

ZOZZONA IS A CULMINATION OF HIS TWO DECADES OF GLOBAL KITCHEN EXPERIENCE; HIGHLIGHTING HOW BOTH CULINARY TRADITIONS, ROOTED IN A PROFOUND VENERATION FOR QUALITY AND SIMPLICITY, CAN INSPIRE TO CREATE SOMETHING UNIQUELY DELICIOUS.