Kuniko Yagi

Experience

Kuniko Yagi probably would not have had a career as a chef had she not left her job as a banker in Tokyo to move to Los Angeles with her new husband in 2003. Barely able to speak English and in need of work after her divorce a year later, she landed a server position at Nobu Matsuhisa's Udon. Kuniko quickly realized that the path to building a sustainable career resided in the kitchen. Determined to learn the craft, she convinced chef David Myers, a regular at Udon, to hire her at Sona. Kuniko worked her way from chef de cuisine to executive chef of Myers' popular bistro Comme Ça. In between, she staged at three-Michelin-starred restaurants in Paris and Japan. Kuniko and Myers collaborated to open his highly acclaimed Japanese-influenced concept Hinoki & the Bird in late 2012, which coincided with her appearance on Top Chef. She left Hinoki & the Bird in 2014 with the intent of starting a casual restaurant where she could cook to feed and nourish everyone. It took Kuniko another four years to secure a partnership with Kaizen Dining Group to open Pikunico, inspired by happy childhood memories of the special fried chicken her grandmother would buy her on the weekends.