KAORI SIMPSON’S CHIKUZEN-NI

You might say Kaori Simpson was destined to cook professionally. The 48-year-old chefowner of Edinburgh’s Harajuku Kitchen comes from a family steeped in restaurants and the traditional Japanese cuisine of the Fukuoka region.

In the 1990s, Kaori studied international relations in Plymouth, intending to work in journalism, or for an NGO, which she did for a time, ‘But, apparently, all my mates remember I was going to open a restaurant. I was such a foodie. Even as a student, I was looking at where I could buy good produce.’

In 2008, living in Edinburgh and following a two-year apprenticeship with the then Japanese consulate chef Toshifumi Minato, that passion finally led to the creation of Harajuku Kitchen. A stall was launched on Stockbridge Market, the restaurant followed in 2013 and, last year, a Harajuku kiosk opened at the St James Quarter development.

Despite this career