Yoshiaki Kugue, owner and chef at Gion Japanese Restaurant, was awarded the Consul General’s Commendation on 14 April.
To celebrate, Chef Kugue - affectionately known to friends as Akira - is offering ChowLuckCard-Plus members his premium sashimi platter (normally priced at $140) for just $99 this May.
The Consul General’s Commendation that he was awarded is presented to those who have made outstanding achievements in relation to Japan that are worthy of special recognition and praise.
“My wife and I are both from Kyoto, and we have paid special attention to this restaurant named after Gion in Kyoto since we arrived in Auckland in 2023,” said Consul General of Japan in Auckland Matsui Shinji.
“Since then…we have become big fans of this restaurant.”
He has been promoting Japanese food since 1996, first at the Auckland Fish Market and then at his Gion Restaurant in Parnell since 2006.
“When Gion opened, it was not as recognized as it is today, and I assumed there were many difficulties in setting it up,” Shinji said.
“Nowadays, Japanese food is popular for its taste and presentation, which emphasizes the beauty of nature and the changing seasons, also for its health benefits.”
Akira named his restaurant after Kyoto’s Gion district, which is famous for imperial palaces, Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines, and traditional wooden houses.
The traditional style of kaiseki dining, which consists of precise Japanese dishes, is still practised there today, along with geishas.
Akira started working as a kitchen hand in a sushi restaurant when he was 17 years old in Kyoto. He later became the sushi chef when the owner let him take care of one of the sushi bars in his 20s.
He came to New Zealand when he was 25 on a working holiday visa and started working at Seamart and Auckland Fish Market at the Viaduct where he also ran classes teaching sushi rolling and tempura cooking.
Akira and his wife Eliza Leung opened their restaurant Gion in 2006, first at 197 Parnell Road before moving across the street to the current site at 168 Parnell Road.
Akira said he was “honoured” and “humbled” to receive the Consul General’s Commendation, which he accepted in the presence of some of his best friends and family members who flew in from Japan.
“I am deeply grateful to my wife, Eliza, and because of her, no matter what happened, I am able to keep on going,” Akira said.
He said it was also the support and many positive feedback from customers about the food at Gion being “so delicious” and “amazing” that were the “biggest motivation” for them in getting where they are today.
Fish and seafood have been the cornerstone of Akira’s journey in Auckland, and to celebrate receiving the Consul General commendations, he is offering his premium sashimi platter featuring a selection of the freshest fish, seafood, including scampi, at a special price of $99.
The deal will be available in May exclusively to ChowLucky-Plus members for dine-in and takeaway with a 24-hour advance order.
“Fish and seafood are incredibly important to Japanese cuisine and culture,” Akira said.
“It plays a central role in our diet and culinary traditions.”
Japan’s proximity to the sea has made fish and seafood a primary source of protein for its people, and has been a staple of the Japanese diet even before meat was commonly consumed.
For centuries, fish have been a cornerstone of the Japanese diet, even before meat was commonly consumed.
“I see freshness and quality as most important because we Japanese like to consume our seafood raw in dishes like sashimi and sushi,” Akira said.
“You can see and taste this quality and freshness that I am talking about in the premium seafood platter.”
Depending on the catch of the day, the platter will include thinly sliced fresh snapper, kingfish, and tuna, shellfish, scampi, and other seafood.
In Gion, Akira places special attention to the sashimi because he said people often judged how good a Japanese restaurant was by how well they do their sashimi.
He encourages customers to take time and interact with their staff when they visit Gion as he is more than happy to share his culture and the Japanese culinary art form.
Gion Japanese Restaurant. 1/168 Parnell Road, Parnell, Auckland. Business Hours: 11.45am to 2pm, 5.45 to 9pm Tuesday to Saturday. Ph: 09 3793344
Download your ChowLuckCard on iOS and subscribe to ChowLucky-Plus to enjoy Chef Akira’s premium sashimi platter at $99: https://apps.apple.com/nz/app/chowluckcard/id6744236704
