In 2022, Osaka native Kazuki Arimoto flew to Singapore and started a new life as sous chef in French-inflected Japanese kaiseki-ya, Omakase @ Stevens. The then-28-year-old was looking to “test himself abroad” — and the challenges quickly piled up.
Around two years into his stint, both the executive chef and manager upped and left simultaneously, leaving both the back and front of house without senior leadership.
Arimoto, who knew he wanted to be a chef from as early as 9 years old — he even declared it his “dream profession” in his elementary school graduation letter — stepped up to the plate as its new executive chef.
“Change is inevitable, we must learn to adapt as quick as possible.”
He channeled his time in culinary school and at acclaimed Tokyo establishments including the now-defunct Tateru Yoshino in Ginza and ESTERRE by Alain Ducasse, and rallied the kitchen, taking it further than anyone could have expected.
The chef propelled Omakase @ Stevens to hitherto unimagined culinary acclaim, receiving One MICHELIN Star in the 2025 edition of the Singapore MICHELIN Guide and being awarded the 2025 MICHELIN Guide Singapore Young Chef Award for his efforts.
He says: “I am honestly happy. When I became the executive chef, we aimed for the MICHELIN Star. When it was announced at the event, I remembered the hardships we went through the whole year and felt a little deep in my thoughts; that when you put your dedication into your dream and work with the right team, you can achieve it.
“My goal is not just One, but Two Stars and I would like to continue my journey, my cooking, with full sincerity,” adds Arimoto, whose achievement — and ambition — solidifies his hard-won standing as a chef to watch in coming years.
Presented by Blancpain, the Young Chef Award is an accolade given to chefs under 36 years of age who display exceptional talent and great potential while working in a restaurant within the selection.
Not Japanese, not French, but uniquely his own
As a child, long before dreaming of MICHELIN Stars, Arimoto dreamt of his mom's cooking. “My mother was a good cook, and she had a strong influence on me,” he says.
Credit also goes to an upbringing in the so-called “Kitchen of Japan,” where food is almost a religion. By the time Arimoto picked up his knife in Osaka, he had already become fluent in “many regional cuisines and ingredients.” That grounding grew dramatically once he underwent professional training and picked up French techniques.
"I think my greatest feature is that I am able to mix these two food cultures that typically do not mix,” he says.
“I reconstruct my memories from Japanese regional cuisine with the techniques I’ve learned, constantly challenging myself to create dishes that are neither Japanese nor French, but uniquely my own style.”
Arimoto puts on display all three of his influences — Japanese, French and specifically Osakan sensibilities — in one of Omakase @ Stevens’s signature dishes: a deep-fried Miyazaki wagyu cutlet served with a rich sauce inspired by Osakan tonkatsu stands — except Arimoto’s version leans on the complex sweetness of Madeira wine for extra body.
The wagyu is prepared with painstaking detail, involving a delicate wet-aging process designed to get its moisture content just right before its final bath in “a savory oil made from wagyu fats.”
“It is a simple dish, but one that has a lot of preparation and thought put into it,” explains Arimoto.
Go together to go far
It is no secret that the F&B scene in Singapore is facing heavy headwinds. The straits were even more dire for Omakase @ Stevens, confesses Arimoto, following the twin departures of its senior staff last year.
“We thought it would be hard to build up again, as we are a young team. But I believe the best thing we did as a team was to stay committed to being excellent at what we do, and eventually, we regained the momentum for Omakase,” he says. “It is important for us to make the restaurant a place where people want to come back not only for the food but for the hospitality they experienced too.”
The restaurant’s turnaround reinforced Arimoto’s convictions around teamwork, gratitude and humility. He says: “I have been supported by many people before I came to Singapore as a Japanese chef. Without them, I would not be here. I think my cooking can be better if I am just conscious of being grateful to my family, to my team, to the ingredients and to my customers.”
Though the Young Chef Award may bear his name this year, it is clear that the executive chef believes it was entirely a team effort. On his biggest lesson ever learned, he has this to say: “Don't try to do everything yourself. When I was training, I tried to do everything by myself, faster and better than anyone else. That made me a better cook.
“However, when you become an executive chef and run a restaurant, including service, it is impossible to do everything by yourself. I learned that it is also my job to trust my colleagues and delegate tasks to them. After all we were brought together for a purpose.”
All images are from Omakase @ Stevens.
