15 Facts About Fumiko Kono

Fumiko Kono is a Japanese personal and business chef who prepares fusion dishes of French and Japanese cuisine.

Fumiko Kono was born on 25 August 1969 in Tokyo, Japan.

Fumiko Kono was an untrained cook, but had a refined palate and used fresh herbs to season his dishes, teaching Kono that flavor mixing was not arbitrary, but due to skill.

Fumiko Kono graduated in 1993 from Seijo University with diplomas in English literature and linguistics.

Fumiko Kono moved to France that same year to begin studies on French civilization and had plans to become a journalist.

Fumiko Kono made her restaurant debut with chef Reine Sammut in 1997 and soon after went to work for Alain Passard as a kitchen assistant.

Fumiko Kono taught her that colors, shapes, odors, and taste must be rigorously selected.

Fumiko Kono studied with him for three years, working her way up the ladder at his restaurant L'Arpege to become his second chef.

Fumiko Kono did not like being in charge of other employees and left after a few months to begin working as a personal chef.

Fumiko Kono cooked risottos with Japanese rice, developed a lighter version of the house specialty Norwegian eggs and created a best-seller in the catering department, skewers of scallops with lemongrass.

In 2009, she was recruited to teach at the Alain Ducasse chef's cooking school on Rue de Longchamp in Paris and the following year, Fumiko Kono opened a bistro, "Benoit", in Tokyo making her permanent home in Japan.

Fumiko Kono continued to travel acting as a personal chef for private functions worldwide, wrote food editorials, a guide to Parisian restaurants, and participated in several Japanese cooking shows.

Fumiko Kono has served as a guest chef for the Galeries Lafayette in Paris and Maison Hermes of Tokyo.

Since 2013, Fumiko Kono has been one of the chefs creating food for Japan Airlines and in 2016, introduced a children's menu for the company.

Fumiko Kono's menu was so successful, two years later it was still served as part of the offerings of chef Mathieu Emeraud for the Garden Courtyard of Plaza Athenee.