KATSUYA FUKUSHIMA

Chef Katsuya Fukushima is a partner and executive chef of the storied Daikaya Group.
Fukushima is one of the Washington, DC region’s most celebrated chefs. A two-time Iron Chef winner,
he rose to fame growing José Andrés’ restaurant empire, including opening the now-Michelin starred
minibar. Internationally, he worked a season at the famed el Bulli in Spain. He is a graduate of
L’Academie de Cuisine and also taught molecular gastronomy at the famed (closed) cooking school. In
2020, Daikaya Group won the prestigious RAMMY award for Restaurateurs of the Year by the
Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington, and along the way, the izakaya earned three stars
from the Washington Post, and has been consistently listed as one of the “100 Best Restaurants” in
Washingtonian. Daikaya was also named in Bon Appetit’s “50 Best New Restaurants in America” and
GQ’s “25 Best New Restaurants in America.”

Fukushima was born in Okinawa, Japan where his dad was stationed at the time—his father is a third-
generation Hawaiian with Japanese ancestry and his mother is from Miyako Island, Japan—and the
family also lived on the Big Island and eventually moved to Maryland, outside of Washington, DC.
Before deciding on a career in the kitchen, Fukushima attended the University of Maryland as a
mathematics and art major. But, as soon as he took one catering job at a golf tournament, he knew he
wanted a career in the kitchen.

After graduating from L’Academie de Cuisine in 1997, started working for José Andrés. At the time,
Andrés had just one restaurant in D.C., and over the next 15 years, Fukushima helped him build his
empire, opening restaurants for Andrés from D.C. to Las Vegas. Andrés sent Fukushima to the famed El
Bulli in Spain, where he learned the innovative molecular gastronomy techniques that would become a
signature at the ultra-high-end minibar, the final Andrés restaurant that Fukushima helmed.
Before starting Daikaya Group with restaurant visionaries Yama Jewayni and Daisuke Utagawa, he used
his molecular gastronomy mastery and consulted for Impossible Food, where he created the first
prototype of the impossible burger. Daikaya Group is made up of Daikaya Ramen and Haikan, Daikaya
Izakaya, Bantam King (fried chicken and chicken ramen), Tonari (Italian and Japanese) and Hole in the
Wall dessert bar (currently dormant).

He’s since been on the cover of the New York Times Magazine and taught VICE how to make his
signature Japanese x Detroit-style pizza. He’s been recognized as a style icon by the Washingtonian,
collects sneakers and dooons like works of art, and is an accomplished now retired breakdancer. He lives
in Capitol Hill, DC with his fiancée, kitten and two dogs.