Unique Collaboration of Michelin-starred chefs
Restaurant Yuu x Racine
Wednesday, December 4 at 6:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.
Thursday, December 5 at 6:00 p.m.
Restaurant Yuu – 55 Nassau Ave, Brooklyn
Cost: $450 per person
Michelin stars will be shining at Restaurant Yuu in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, on December 4 and 5. Chef Yuu Shimano and Chef Kazuyuki Tanaka, owner of Racine in Champagne, France, are collaborating for an exclusive dinner event.
Within six months of opening in 2023, Executive Chef Yuu Shimano’s namesake Restaurant Yuu was awarded one Michelin Star. Robb Report ranked Restaurant Yuu as the number one Best New Restaurant in America in 2024, and OAD listed it as #68 out of 598 restaurants in the Top Restaurants in North America in 2024.
Tasting Highlights
This exceptional 14-course chef’s tasting menu will kick off the holiday season; both chefs will use their distinct culinary styles to showcase the very best of seasonal winter ingredients.
Guests will enjoy five amuse-bouches, three by Chef Kazuyuki and two by Chef Yuu. This will be followed by three signature dishes from each chef. The meal will conclude with two desserts: one created by Chef Kazuyuki and the other by Restaurant Yuu’s Executive Pastry Chef Masaki Takahashi.
There will be two seatings on December 4—at 6:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.—and a 6:00 p.m. seating on December 5. To make reservations for this unique culinary experience, please visit Tock.
Chef Yuu Shimano
About Chef Yuu Shimano
Chef Yuu Shimano trained at Tsuji Culinary Institute in Osaka, Japan, and Lyon, France, graduating in 2002. He spent eight years in French kitchens, beginning at the two-Michelin-starred La Villa des Lys at the Hotel Majestic in Cannes before becoming the Chef de Partie of Meats and Sauces for a long stint with his mentor, Guy Savoy, a three-starred Michelin chef, in Paris. There Shimano learned to appreciate the soul of French culture and the interaction between nature and the ingredients. In 2017, he was tapped by Tokyo Restaurant Factory to open MIFUNE New York, where he served as Executive Chef for five years and earned a Michelin star. He found his style when he combined his French techniques with meticulous Japanese attention to detail and precision.
Chef Kazuyuki Tanaka
About Chef Kazuyuki Tanaka
Chef Kazuyuki Tanaka’s impressive culinary journey began in Japan, where he honed his skills at esteemed establishments such as Apicius and Hotel New Otani Saga. He moved to France at the age of 21 and trained for years at Michelin-starred restaurants around the country before opening his own restaurant, Racine, in Reims, where he earned two Michelin stars. He is the recipient of multiple prestigious accolades, including the Jeune Talent de l’Année Award (Young Talent 2015) and the Grand de demain (Future Grand Chef 2016) Award from Gault & Millau, which he earned three times. His cookbook, Racine: Un Japonais à Reims, was published in 2021.
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JAA’s Sakura Matsuri in Queens
JAA 19th Sakura Matsuri
Saturday, April 20 from 11:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m.
Flushing Meadows Corona Park
Admission: Free
The Japanese American Association will hold its 19th Sakura Matsuri at Flushing Meadows Corona Park on Saturday, April 20. The program begins at 11:00 a.m. rain or shine and features performances by taiko drumming group Soh Daiko, the Japanese Folk Dance Institute of New York, the JAA Chorus with Japan Choral Harmony “TOMO,” and the New York Okinawa Club & Jimpu-Kai New York. In addition, there will be a tea ceremony on the lawn by the Urasenke Tea Ceremony Society. Yours truly is honored to serve as emcee.
Bring a blanket and a bento and enjoy the cherry blossoms!
For more information, please visit JAA’s website.
Cherry trees planted by the Parks Department for JAA in Flushing Meadows Corona Park
JAA’s Honorees
This year a cherry tree will be planted in honor of the late Dr. George and Mrs. Kazuko Nagamatsu for their years of generous support of JAA. Dr. Nagamatsu was a pioneering urologist and engineer who was the first Nisei (second-generation Japanese American) to be named Chairman of Urology at a major U.S. medical school when he took the position at New York Medical College in 1957. As a recipient of JAA’s Project Bento initiative during the COVID-19 pandemic, Mrs. Nagamatsu felt a closeness with the organization and named JAA one of the beneficiaries in her will when she passed away in 2021.
The History of JAA’s Sakura Trees
Symbolizing the friendship between Japan and the U.S., in 1912 Japan gave a gift of sakura trees the Washington, D.C., as well as 2,000 sakura trees to New York City, thirteen of which were planted in Claremont Park, now Sakura Park. JAA’s “21st Century New York Cherry Blossom Project” began on Arbor Day, April 24, 1992, at City Hall Park. Sakura seeds donated by The Cherry Association of Japan were presented by then JAA President Shigeru Inagaki to Betsy Gotbaum, then Commissioner of New York Parks. The seeds were nursed in the greenhouses of Van Cortlandt Park, and JAA volunteers planted 168 trees in a design created by the noted landscape artist Kan Domoto with George Yuzawa in 2001. Working in close cooperation with the Flushing Meadows Corona Park staff, JAA has donated and planted hundreds of sakura trees.
Disclosure: The author is a Vice President of The Japanese American Association of New York, Inc. and the chair of JAA’s Sakura Matsuri committee.
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