Chef Ippei Uemura, Japan / France

Tabi Restaurant, Marseille – 3 G&M toques (15/20), Michelin recommended

A world traveller, lover of music, fishing and above all cooking, Ippei Uemura was born in the Japanese town of Shiga. Ever since he was a child, his dream has been combining cooking and travelling. For seven years he learned about the secrets of traditional Japanese cuisine, and then in 2003 he settled down in Marseille. In his restaurant called Tabi he promotes local gastronomy and local food producers. He enjoys the contact with ingredients and their producers, teaches Marseille fishermen about ancient Japanese fishing techniques, harvests grapes in Cassis vineyards, cooks eels in St Chamas… or in Japan, where he himself designs the crockery used in his restaurant.

The founder of the “nomadic Kaiseki concept“, which won Tabi 3 toques from the Gault&Millau guide (rated 15/20) and a recommendation from Michelin, combines Japanese techniques and indigenous Provençal ingredients. Talent, skill, experience and dedicated work won him a special Seafood Trophy back in 2017, as well as the title of the Young Talent of the Year by Gault&Millau in 2017 and 2018.

Chef Uemura is a member of Collège Culinaire de France and Gourmediterranée, an association of chefs which promotes Mediterranean cuisine. He is the ambassador of Japanese cuisine in France and the city of Marseille in Japan, constantly travelling and demonstrating his skills in Tunisia, Morocco, Croatia, Turkey, as well as Japan.  He is a member of the Open Sushi France jury, holding masterclasses all over the world. And no less important – he has a rock band in Marseille!