DUBAI: For Chef Akinori Tanigawa, cooking is something learned slowly, through repetition, discipline and years in the kitchen. Now head chef at KIGO Dubai, his career spans traditional training in Japan as well as professional kitchens in the US.
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Born in Fukuoka, Japan, Tanigawa began his career in Osaka as a kappo chef — a style of dining where guests sit at the counter and the chef cooks in front of them. He later returned to his hometown to focus on traditional Japanese cuisine, eventually taking over his family’s restaurant in Fukuoka, where for more than 13 years he worked as a kaiseki chef, mastering the art of multi-course seasonal meals that follow a precise order and philosophy.
He then spent five years in the US as head chef of a kaiseki restaurant in Indiana, learning how to present this highly refined style of Japanese dining to an international audience without losing its essence.
In 2024, Tanigawa joined Four Seasons Hotel Dubai DIFC as the head chef of KIGO.
