Rockstar chef Hisato Hamada is an award-winning culinary visionary, bestselling author, and one of the world’s foremost ambassadors of wagyu and Japanese food culture. Born in 1977 to an economist father and a pianist mother with a passion for cooking, his early years were spent travelling the globe, cooking local dishes with his mother—a foundation for his cosmopolitan culinary perspective.
In 2014, driven by a deep respect for Japan’s farmers and a fascination with craftsmanship, he co-founded WAGYUMAFIA with entrepreneur Takafumi Horie. What began as a humble wagyu food truck soon sparked a global movement, highlighted by the debut of the Wagyu Chateaubriand Cutlet Sandwich in 2016.
Today, Hamada oversees 10 brands under the WAGYUMAFIA Group, spanning 27 restaurants across Tokyo, Kyoto, Nagasaki, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Each venue is a stage where fire, sound, and storytelling transform dining into a performance. A sought-after figure at international gala dinners, fashion events, and Formula 1 weekends, he has cemented WAGYUMAFIA as a premier luxury food brand.
Hamada’s mission extends beyond the plate: he champions rare ingredients, emerging talent, and underrepresented producers, serving as a bridge between Japan’s culinary heritage and the world.
