1. Inspired chef
Executive chef Taro Takayama never nurtured childhood ambitions of becoming a chef. “I did my undergraduate studies in law hoping to become a lawyer,” he confesses. But one day, he saw a photo of a chef preparing sashimi, and instantly knew that was what he wanted to do. He trained under top chefs in three Michelin-starred Japanese restaurants, and was appointed master chef at the residence of the Japanese ambassador in Singapore, before he set up his omakase restaurant.
(Related: 4 Things To Know About Kaiseki—The Japanese Art Of Fine Dining)