A Japanese Private Chef in Tuscany: Passion, Perseverance, and Pasta
Hiro Shikata arrived in Italy in 1995, after working in kitchens in Japan and an Italian restaurant in Singapore. After a stage in Sicily, he travelled up the boot and soon found himself out of money in Rome. He chose a well-regarded restaurant, enjoyed a long meal, and – once the waiter arrived with the bill – offered to work it off in the kitchen. The restaurant owner accepted, and nearly 30 years later, Hiro is still in Italy.
Hiro’s journey has taken him from trattorias and simple osterias to Michelin-starred restaurants and back. Today, he works as a private chef between Siena and the Val d’Orcia, where he has become a bit of a celebrity for his innovative fusion of Eastern and Western cuisines.
During off-season, the Japanese chef also works abroad. My sister Victoria Trauttmansdorff, a well-known actress in Germany, met Hiro on a film set near St. Moritz in the Swiss Alps. Together with his wife Emiko and their two daughters, they catered for the film crew on a winter campsite up on 2000 meters (an adventure I plan to tell you more about soon).
Once my sister found out that the family is based in Tuscany she sent me a message: ‘Urgent! Found the perfect private chef for Trust&Travel.’ Boots deep in the snow, the talented Shikata family had pulled off the best film set catering my sister has experienced in her four-decades-long career.
PRIVATE CHEF HIRO: Consult Hiro’s website to book him as a private chef, for a cooking class in Tuscany or exciting culinary projects further afield.
