A successful jeans designer in Tokyo, Masanori Takahashi spoke little English when he and his family moved to Hawke’s Bay for a better way of life.

The next three years were challenging, with Taka studying at EIT to improve his language skills and then progressing to chef training. 

Struggling financially during this time, he and wife Aya made a tough decision.  She returned to Japan for a year with son Gaku and daughter Sara, now aged 10 and eight, to work and support him in his studies.  

Taka soldiered on alone but says he was well supported by EIT tutors and by his host family.

“They are our New Zealand family now,” he says of the latter, “parents for us and grandparents for the kids”.

Now living in Taradale, Taka, Aya and their children are now seeing the payback for their efforts. Taka recently secured a full-time job with his favourite Hawke’s Bay restaurant, Ten Twenty Four in Hastings, and he graduated recently with his Diploma in Professional Chef Practice.

Moving here was a huge call, however.  Having gained a Bachelor of Business in International Business in Japan, Taka had established his career, working for jeans maker Edwin Company Ltd for 17 years. 

“The brand is also big in Europe, the USA and other countries,” he says, “but maybe not so much in New Zealand.”

The downside of the job was the long hours, which left little time to spend with the family.  A week-long holiday in New Zealand was enough to convince the couple that they and their children would do better here. 

Hawke’s Bay was included in the holiday itinerary because Taka and Aya love wine and are keen surfers.  Impressed by the sunny climate and countryside, they felt this region offered the perfect lifestyle.

Taka studied English at EIT’s English Language Centre for 10 months and then enrolled in the hospitality school’s cooking diploma programme.

Chef tutor Mark Caves says that because cooking has a common international language, he and Taka were able to relate to one another in describing food textures and ideas.

“Even though Taka’s English was not great, he used his own food culture and experiences to excel in projects and become the Top Culinary Student for 2016.”

For two years, Taka combined study with part-time work at Ten Twenty Four.  He says owner-chef Kent Baddeley has been very kind and he greatly admires his style of cuisine – artistically presented fusion dishes that can sometimes include Japanese as well as locally-sourced seasonal ingredients. 

“I consider him an artist as well as a chef.  I want to be like him.”

Taka and his family hope they will eventually gain New Zealand residency.