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Saori Ichihara was born and raised in Japan. In Japan, she worked as a chef at various restaurants in Kyoto, Osaka, and Tokyo. In Sweden, she has worked at, among others, the acclaimed Esperanto, Shibumi, and Oaxen Krog before becoming the head chef at her own restaurant, Ichi, which focused on Nordic-Japanese cuisine. In 2015, she placed third in the Chef of the Year competition. Today, Saori freelances and operates various pop-up restaurants around the Nordic region.