Chizuko Kimura
Chizuko Kimura (born April 1970) is a Japanese sushi chef based in Paris. In 2025 she and her restaurant Sushi Shunei were awarded a Michelin star. With the award, she became the first female sushi chef in the world to win a Michelin star.
Biography
[edit]Chizuko Kimura was born in Japan in April 1970, from a father businessman and a mother housewife.[1] She has a sister.[1] She grew up between Tokyo and Mount Fuji.[1] She became a tourists guide and in 2004,she met in Paris Shunei Kimura, that had lived in France for around 30 years and became her husband in 2005.[1] Chizuko Kimura settled in France in 2008.[1] Her husband dreamed of having a restaurant and a Michelin start, but is diagnosed with a liver cancer in 2015.[1]
Kimura was working as a tour guide in Paris when her husband decided to open a sushi restaurant in Montmartre.[2] On June 9, 2021, Chizuko Kimura's husband opened Sushi Shunei, a small restaurant of only eight to nine seats.[3][4][1] During the COVID-19 pandemic, Kimura lost her job as a tour guide and joined her husband in the restaurant where she learned to prepare fish, cook rice and run the business.[5][6] At the time, she had no experience as a chef.[7]
In 2022, their small restaurant Sushi Shunei was awarded a Michelin star.[8][9][10] Three months later, her husband, Sushi Shunei's head chef Shunei Kimura died of cancer.[5][11] Before his death, Chizuko Kimura promised her husband she would maintain Sushi Shunei's legacy. The restaurant lost its Michelin star the following year.[5] The loss of the Michelin star encouraged Kimura to continue to improve.[12] She kept training and studying, and visit Japan regularly to keep improving.[7] She also hired the sushi master Takeshi Morooka.[7]
In March 2025, Chizuko Kimura and Sushi Shunei were awarded a Michelin star.[5] In earning the award, Chizuko Kimura became the first woman in the 120-year history of the guide to be awarded a Michelin star for sushi.[13]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g Girard, Quentin. "Chizuko Kimura, les sushis de l'amour et de la mort". Libération (in French). Retrieved 2025-07-28.
- ^ "Sushi Shunei, traditional sushi restaurant in Montmartre". www.sortiraparis.com. Retrieved 2025-05-26.
- ^ "Shunei Kimura". France Sushi (in French). 2019-11-30. Retrieved 2025-05-26.
- ^ AFP - (2025-07-27). "Chizuko Kimura, première cheffe sushi étoilée au monde, ou l'histoire d'une promesse". La Libre.be (in French). Retrieved 2025-07-28.
- ^ a b c d "Tragic promise drove world's first Michelin-starred woman sushi chef". The Straits Times. 2025-04-22. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 2025-05-26.
- ^ "Chizuko Kimura, première femme cheffe sushi au monde à recevoir une étoile Michelin - Elle à Table". elle.fr (in French). 2025-04-04. Retrieved 2025-05-26.
- ^ a b c "L'instant + : Chizuko Kimura, première femme cheffe sushi au monde à recevoir une étoile Michelin". France 24 (in French). 2025-04-10. Retrieved 2025-05-26.
- ^ Norimatsu, Minako (2023-10-31). "Sushi Yoshinaga and sake bar Omasake bring Tokyo experiences to Paris". Wallpaper*. Archived from the original on 2024-12-10. Retrieved 2025-05-26.
- ^ "41 new restaurants awarded their first Michelin star in 2022". Taste of France. 2022-04-02. Retrieved 2025-05-26.
- ^ Mesnards, Fanny Guénon des (2022-03-22). "Sushi Shunei, le nouveau restaurant japonais étoilé à Paris". AD Magazine (in French). Retrieved 2025-05-26.
- ^ "Adieu au « Chouchou de Montmartre »". France Sushi (in French). 2022-06-30. Archived from the original on 2025-04-21. Retrieved 2025-05-26.
- ^ "Meet the world's first Michelin-starred woman sushi chef". South China Morning Post. 2025-04-19. Retrieved 2025-05-26.
- ^ "Chizuko Kimura, première femme cheffe sushi étoilée par le Guide MICHELIN". France Sushi (in French). 2025-03-31. Archived from the original on 2025-04-25. Retrieved 2025-05-26.
 | This biographical article on a chef is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |