After the success of 'Miyazaki' Japanese takeaway restaurant, Takashi Miyazaki opened Ichigo Ichie which received its first Michelin star just 6 months after opening in the Michelin Guide 2019.
Takashi Miyazaki landed his first job cooking part time at an izakaya whilst at college in Fukuoka. This then led to the beginning of Takashi’s culinary career at the 5-star hotel Nikko Fukuoka.
Takashi Miyazaki
A few years later, Takashi then left to work in Tokunoshima, a subtropical island north of Okinawa. Takashi trained extensively in fusion teppanyaki cooking, travelling across Japan to learn different regional cuisines.
After helping a relative’s okonomiyaki restaurant in Hiroshima, but soon leaving due to having ‘different theories of food.’ Takashi landed a job as head chef at the Irish bar Molly Malones.
This led to meeting his wife, who was on a JET program from Ireland, and in 2008; he left Japan for the Emerald Isle.
As Takashi started to work around Ireland, in 2015 he opened his self-titled take away restaurant and word spread about his signature dashi using the best of Irish seasonal ingredients. Takashi then opens Ichigo Ichie and for the first time brings a kappou-style fine dining Japanese restaurant to Ireland.
Taking over the former Fenn’s Quay restaurant onSheare’sStreet in Cork,IchigoIchie was opened in April 2018 where Takashi and his team of chefs have come up with a form of Japanese cuisine that is proving a hit with locals and visitors alike.
Just 6 months after opening,IchigoIchiereceivesits Michelin star, which is no surprise to locals with Takashi beingpreviouslyvoted best chef in Cork.
Thename of the restaurant roots from the definition of ‘one meaning, one chance or once in a lifetime,’ with the top-end restaurant offering a 12-coursekaiseikiand a tasting menu costingfrom €95. The sceneryis minimalist, calm and demure,with a pathway leading to the altar of the temple.
The restaurant sits 25 people at a time and includes an exclusive counter of five seats, where Takashidisplays his culinary skills for the 12-courses of his kaiseki menu.
Blue fin tataki, black truffle
Menu
Takashi uses seasonal and local Irish ingredients andcan range fromsmoked scallop on top of nigiri rice, to the channel wrack in theGohanmonocourse, with burdock, carrot, shiitake and dashi. Takashi is very open with the ingredients he uses and displays a ‘Japanese Pantry’ on theIchigoIchie website to showcase hisgastronomy.Thecourses can be paired with the natural wines the restaurant has including the Austrian wines from Elizabeth Beck. Takashi’s creativity gives customers the chance to pay microscopic detail to their food, making the overall experience partly spiritual, partly a form of culinary cleansing.
The Staff Canteen team are taking a different approach to keeping our website independent and delivering content free from commercial influence. Our Editorial team have a critical role to play in informing and supporting our audience in a balanced way. We would never put up a paywall and restrict access – The Staff Canteen is open to all and we want to keep bringing you the content you want; more from younger chefs, more on mental health, more tips and industry knowledge, more recipes and more videos. We need your support right now, more than ever, to keep The Staff Canteen active. Without your financial contributions this would not be possible.
Over the last 12 years, The Staff Canteen has built what has become the go-to platform for chefs and hospitality professionals. As members and visitors, your daily support has made The Staff Canteen what it is today. Our features and videos from the world’s biggest name chefs are something we are proud of. We have over 500,000 followers across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and other social channels, each connecting with chefs across the world. Our editorial and social media team are creating and delivering engaging content every day, to support you and the whole sector - we want to do more for you.
A single coffee is more than £2, a beer is £4.50 and a large glass of wine can be £6 or more.
Support The Staff Canteen from as little as £1 today. Thank you.
