Jun Tanaka is an American-born British Japanese UK TV chef, best known for presenting Channel 4's Cooking It as well as appearing in Saturday Kitchen on BBC One.
Jun and his parents moved to England when Jun was seven years old, and he attended Wycliffe College (Gloucestershire). He did not have a distinguished academic career and his A level experience suggested that University wouldn't be a successful option. He asked his Business Studies teacher about the wisdom of setting up a restaurant, and was not met with a particularly encouraging response. However, on leaving school at the age of 18, Jun asked his father which London restaurants he rated the most. Armed with his father's list, Jun 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.[1]
Over a period of ten years Jun worked and trained at each of these establishments. He began at Le Gavroche, followed by Chez Nico, and then joined The Capital as Chef de Partie under Philip Britten. Jun then worked for two years at Les Saveurs as Chef de Partie under Joel Antunes. He then went on to work under Marco Pierre White at both The Restaurant Marco Pierre White and The Oak room in the role of Sous Chef, after which he went to The Square as Junior Sous Chef under Philip Howard and then Chavot under Eric Chavot as Sous Chef.[1]
On television, Tanaka hosted the Channel 4 programme Cooking It in 2006, and appeared on Saturday Kitchen on BBC One, Great Food Live on UKTV and Saturday Cooks on ITV. Tanaka appeared as a resident chef on the BBC Two programme Food Poker in 2007.[1] He is currently a regular fixture on Market Kitchen on UKTV, and has appeared on multiple occasions on Daily Cooks Challenge on ITV.
Jun Tanaka is currently the Executive Head Chef of the Pearl Restaurant and Bar, a fine dining establishment situated in the old banking hall of the Pearl Assurance building. Pearl specializes in French cuisine with modern and light touches and showcases seasonal fresh ingredients.
In May 2009, Tanaka's first book "Simple to Sensational" was published by Simon & Schuster Ltd.