At Gastromasa 2025, taking place on November 6–7 at the Haliç Congress Center in Istanbul, Yoshizumi Nagaya will share his unique culinary philosophy, where Japanese craftsmanship meets European refinement.
With a remarkable career spanning over three decades, Nagaya has become a defining figure in global fine dining, seamlessly blending purity, precision, and emotion on every plate.

WHO IS YOSHIZUMI NAGAYA?

Born in Gifu Japan, Yoshizumi Nagaya learned the art of traditional and contemporary Japanese cuisine from famous Japanese masters. In 2000, Nagaya moved to Düsseldorf and in the years that followed, he opened his first Michelin starred restaurant “Nagaya”, which combines Japanese purism and European high cuisine. After the success of “Nagaya”, he received his second Michelin star with a traditional omakase restaurant called “Yoshi by Nagaya”, which he refers to as “a return to his roots”. In 2023, Nagaya received his 3rd Michelin Star with Sankai by Nagaya.

The first time Nagaya visited İstanbul, he felt an incredible energy from the people and thought there was so much potential in Turkey with a wide range of delicious seafood cuisine. In his words, “I traveled to different places in Turkey and Istanbul and walked in many places. I really saw that this energy was in the whole city. Now I was under the spell of Turkey.”

Nagaya’s first restaurant in Turkey, SANKAI, is a concept that reflects Nagaya’s 30 years of Japanese cuisine wisdom with local seafood and products of Turkey to create a dining experience that tells the story of Japan. Join him on the chef’s table for an unforgettable trip to Japan on your taste buds. This unusual combination of traditional Japanese purism and European haute cuisine has been awarded a Michelin star and three toques by Gault Millau.