Natsuko Shoji is behind the acclaimed Tokyo restaurant été and was awarded Asia's Best Female Chef at Asia's 50 Best Restaurants 2022. She is famed for her exquisite cake creations, and after running her own tart shop, in 2015 she transformed it into the invitation-only été, which originally had only four seats and has now expanded to six seats. At the restaurants, diners are invited to request ingredients or dishes in advance, and Shoji then creates them with her own spin, using top-notch seasonal Japanese ingredients and more.