Born in the US to Japanese parents, Jun Tanaka has headed up the kitchen at Pearl since its opening in June 2004. During this time, the restaurant has gained an excellent reputation for its modern French cuisine, served in the beautiful surroundings of the historic Pearl Assurance building.
Jun started his career at Le Gavroche at the age of 19 and spent the next ten years working with some of London’s best chefs in seven top Michelin star restaurants where he perfected the art of fine French cuisine.
Prior to Pearl, Jun worked and trained at Chez Nico, The Capital, The Square, Les Saveurs and Marco Pierre White’s restaurant, Harvey’s. He also worked under Marco Pierre White at both The Restaurant Marco Pierre White and The Oak room. This refinement and high standard of cooking is now evident in the dishes at Pearl, where the menus are changed regularly to incorporate the best seasonal produce and ingredients.
Jun is a firm believer in using the best ingredients in season and ensuring that any ingredients used should not be masked and over complicated, but enhanced to bring out their natural flavours, producing a clean and distinct taste.