Kaori Becker

Originally from the Bay Area, Kaori Becker is a cooking instructor and owner of Kaori's Kitchen cooking school and catering. Drawing from her Japanese roots, Kaori has taught culinary classes and demonstrations in Columbus, Ohio at the Franklin Park Conservatory and The Seasoned Farmhouse, as well as Kitchen on Fire in Berkeley, Draeger's School in San Francisco, and at other Oakland locations. 'Ka-o-ri' means 'fragrance' in Japanese, and Kaori has always been passionate about recreating delicious, fragrant dishes from her Japanese tradition, enjoying local farm-to-table eating, and sharing sumptuous food memories with friends and family. Her specialty originates in Japanese food, growing up as a half-Japanese woman and learning how to cook traditional Japanese meals and desserts from her mother, who is a first generation full-Japanese. These authentic Japanese recipes have been passed down to Kaori through her Japanese grandparents who owned an authentic ramen noodle shop in the countryside of Fukushima, Japan. Kaori's business, Kaori's Kitchen, focuses on providing Japanese cooking classes and private parties to people in the Bay Area using seasonal, local and organic ingredients. Kaori also currently directs and runs 2 culinary programs for private schools in San Leandro and Oakland. She lives in the Bay Area with her husband and animator Alan Becker.