Yuki Gomi is a Japanese-born chef, food writer and teacher known for making Japanese home cooking accessible, nourishing and rooted in real technique. Raised near Mount Fuji, she grew up cooking with natural, home-grown ingredients — an upbringing that shaped her belief that good food should be simple, seasonal and heartfelt.

At 19 she moved to Chicago, training at Le Cordon Bleu and working in fast-paced restaurant kitchens that sharpened her professional skills. She later returned to Japan to study with a master soba-noodle chef, deepening her understanding of traditional methods and the precision at the heart of Japanese cuisine.

In 2005 Yuki moved to London, where she developed menus for Japanese restaurants before founding Yuki’s Kitchen, her cooking school dedicated to demystifying Japanese food for home cooks. Her practical, technique-driven teaching encourages students to use accessible, local ingredients while still achieving authentic flavour. She is also the author of Sushi at Home (Penguin), which presents clear, adaptable methods for preparing Japanese dishes in everyday kitchens.

For the past three years, Yuki has joined our castle’s Cucina Povera Food Symposium with her husband Alex and daughter Hannah, contributing her expertise and helping create the first Potentino miso, a unique meeting of Japanese craft and local culinary tradition.

Day 1 (Monday 15 June)

• Arrival & Welcome
• Afternoon Workshop:
  Intro to koji, umami & core Japanese ferments
• Winetasting with castle winemaker Charlotte Horton
• Welcome Dinner: Shio-koji chicken, white miso soup (dashi intro), seasonal vegetables, green bean & black sesame salad

Day 2 (Tuesday 16 June)

• Morning Workshop:
  Broad bean chili miso, asazuke pickles, amazake.
  Cook soybeans for miso; prepare miso-yogurt marinade
• Lunch: Miso-yaki onigiri, pickles, miso soup, seasonal vegetables
• Afternoon Workshop:
  Japanese-style kimchi, intro to sake kasu, sake kasu cheesecake (served Day 3)
• Dinner & sake-tasting: Miso-marinated lamb, seasonal dishes, amazake ice cream

Day 3 (Wednesday 17 June)

• Morning Workshop:
  Temae miso making (to take home)
  Miso styles & tasting
• Lunch: Tan-tan ramen with chili miso
• Evening Workshop & Farewell Dinner:
  Cooking together with all ferments: kimchi gyoza, sweet miso aubergine, nanban chicken/fish, seasonal dishes, Sake kasu cheesecake

Day 4 (Thursday 18 June)

Departure

Please note: While the course is broadly outlined here, the program and menu may change in order or detail during the week.

What’s included

• 2 full days and 3 nights
• Board and lodging at Castello di Potentino
• Meals (3 dinners, 2 lunches)
• All sessions and activities

What’s not included

• Flights
• Transfers to and from Potentino

Prices

Prices vary by room choice and number of guests sharing the room.

A single person is from €1,640

Two people sharing a room is from €1,475 per person.

Three people sharing a room is from €1,380 per person.