Zaiyu Hasegawa

Zaiyu Hasegawa is the chef and owner of two-Michelin-starred Den, in Tokyo, named 'Asia's 50 Best Restaurant 2022'.

The Tokyo-born chef first opened his informal fine-dining izakaya restaurant in 2007, and has won a string of accolades over the years, including the 50 Best's One to Watch, Art of Hospitality and the Chef's Choice award.

The internationally respected chef is best known for his playful and creative dishes, like ‘Dentucky’ chicken wings, and his takiawase-style ‘Den Salad’, and is usually found on camera with his sidekick, Pucci Jr, the restaurant's mascot Chicahua.