Kaori Simpson

Japanese entrepreneur and chef Kaori Simpson is the head chef and owner of Harajuku Kitchen, a Japanese food and sushi restaurant in Edinburgh (harajukukitchen.co.uk). Born in Hong Kong into an expat Japanese family of merchants, Kaori grew up helping in her mum’s restaurants, learning the family recipes and eventually cooking in the kitchen. Harajuku Kitchen started as a market stall in Stockbridge Market, selling gyoza dumplings and udon noodle stir-fries. Kaori opened Harajuku Kitchen, Edinburgh’s first authentic Japanese restaurant, in 2013. It won an AA Rosette and was named Best Japanese Restaurant at the Asian Curry Awards in 2018. You can follow Kaori and Harajuku Kitchen on Instagram at @harajukukitchen.