Jun Tanaka

At the age of 19, Jun asked his father which restaurants he most rated in London and approached each of them to gain a position as an apprentice. Top of the list were Le Gavroche, Chez Nico and Marco Pierre White’s restaurant Harvey’s.

Over a period of ten years Jun worked and trained at each of these establishments. He went on to work under Marco Pierre White at both The Restaurant Marco Pierre White and The Oak room. Jun has worked at several other Michelin star restaurants including The Capital, Chavot and Les Saveurs.

In 2000, Jun took on his first role as Head Chef at Chives Restaurant in Fulham Road. Here he received praise for his captivating dishes. Chives was categorised by Fay Maschler as one of the best restaurants to open in year 2000.

In September 2001, Jun was appointed head chef of QC restaurant. Pearl is Jun Tanaka's latest venture.

Gastronomic decadence

Like Pearl with its heritage and contemporary design, the foundation of Jun’s cuisine is classic French but has modern and light touches. He is a firm believer in using the best ingredients in season.

Jun believes that ingredients should not be masked and over complicated, but enhanced to bring out their natural flavours, producing a clean and distinct taste.

"When creating a new recipe, I always think how each and every ingredient will compliment each other to create a complete and balanced dish," he says.

'Cooking It' on Channel 4

Jun recently presented an eight-part television series for Channel 4 where he trained kitchen klutzes to cook at the level of a professional chef in just a matter of weeks.

Click here to view the recipes from each week of the programmme.