Connie Britton wants White Lotus return
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Business Insider
5 hours ago
- Business Insider
She made a promise to her dying husband. Now, Chizuko Kimura is the first female sushi chef to earn a Michelin star.
Before he died, sushi chef Shunei Kimura had one last wish for his wife. Sushi Shunei, his namesake Paris restaurant, had just earned a Michelin star three months prior. He wanted its legacy to live on. Chizuko Kimura had only begun cooking a year before, helping her husband in the kitchen as he underwent cancer treatment. But she honored his dying wish. Three years later, Kimura became the first woman to receive a Michelin star as a sushi chef. Kimura told Business Insider she "couldn't believe it" when she first heard the news. Now, she's sharing her story in the hopes it will show women that anything is possible. Love with a side of sushi Kimura grew up in Odawara, about an hour from Tokyo. The ocean was nearby, so fresh seafood was always on her family's dinner table. "I still remember the smell of soy sauce that always filled the kitchen, so familiar and comforting," Kimura said. "I wasn't cooking yet, but those memories stayed with me — in my nose and on my tongue." "I grew up in an environment where food had an important place," she added. "Even though I never imagined I would work in that field one day." Kimura moved to Paris to begin working as a travel agent. One fateful day in 2004, she went to a sushi restaurant and met her future husband, who was working at the counter. A year later, they were married. Shunei Kimura spent three decades working at sushi restaurants before he decided to open his own at the age of 63. "He ended up fulfilling his two dreams: to open an edomae sushi restaurant under his name in Paris, and to earn a Michelin star," Kimura said about her husband. A new career Sushi Shunei was scheduled to open in 2020, but was delayed for a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Kimura had been a tour guide but lost her job when much of the world went into lockdown, so she helped her husband open the restaurant. "He never said to me, 'Learn how to make sushi,'" Kimura recalled. "But he showed me everything, and I observed everything. I learned to prepare the fish, to cook the rice, to follow every detail." It was a crash course for a craft that typically takes a decade or more to perfect. But Kimura's husband had been diagnosed with liver cancer in 2015 and was getting sicker. "Normally, it takes many years to become a sushi chef, but I had to do it because Shunei couldn't use his hands sometimes," Kimura said. "Every day by his side was a learning experience. Even while sick, he never stopped teaching." Sushi Shunei opened on June 9, 2021, on Montmartre's hill in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. Nine months later, the traditional sushiya received its first Michelin star in the 2022 Michelin Guide. "He never complained, and no customer ever knew he was sick," Kimura said. "He received that star at the age of 65, three months before his passing." One last promise Kimura told BI that before her husband died, he asked her to keep his legacy alive with the restaurant. "He said to me, 'Could you keep this restaurant forever?'" Kimura recalled. "I have to continue. It's my duty." She even kept the restaurant open on the day he died. "I continued, because I knew that's what he wanted," Kimura said. "It wasn't a matter of strength. It was for him." However, it wasn't an easy transition, and Sushi Shunei lost its Michelin star in 2023. "It was a shock. I felt as if I had lost Shunei a second time," Kimura said. "I thought there might be no chance of getting the star back, but I didn't give up." "I turned that pain into obsession," she added. "I had to get it back. Not for me — for him." A star is born Kimura hired sushi chef Takeshi Morooka to help as she continued to hone her skills, even training at Michelin-starred restaurants in Japan. "Every morning, I got up to work. I continued day after day, without pause, I never stopped," Kimura said. "I told myself, 'I must give it my all. I must go all the way.' There was no alternative." "The customers were a great support," she added. "Some came several times just to encourage me. They told me they believed in me. Those words gave me courage." All that hard work paid off. When the 2025 Michelin Guide came out in March, the star was next to Sushi Shunei's name once again. Kimura was now not only a Michelin-starred chef but also the first female sushi chef in the world to earn such a distinction. "I thought of him, of Shunei," Kimura said. "I felt, deep inside, that I had not betrayed his memory. For me, this is not a new star — it's Shunei's star that I managed to win back. I only continued what we had started together." Kimura is committed to keeping that star next to Sushi Shunei's name. She hopes it will inspire women and anyone who has been told "that it was too late, or impossible." "Talent has no gender — only work and courage," Kimura said. "Maybe it seemed unthinkable that at age 50, I would begin a career as a sushi chef without ever having cooked before. But what Shunei passed on to me is faith in work and in determination." "If you hold on, if you believe in what you're doing, anything becomes possible," she added. "That is the greatest lesson."
Fox News
9 hours ago
- Fox News
Carrie Underwood fully embraces traditional country living on her Tennessee farm
Carrie Underwood is embracing life as a country girl. When the country superstar isn't performing or working as a judge on "American Idol," she spends time at her family farm just outside Nashville. There, Underwood and husband Mike Fisher and their two sons, Isaiah and Jacob, practice homesteading. Underwood grows produce and raises livestock, and she has been dabbling in canning foods and crocheting clothing, all seemingly part of her move to live a simpler life. Earlier this month, she shared photos of tomatoes and peaches she'd grown. In June, she shared a post about an experience she had tending to her sheep. The "Before He Cheats" singer explained that, at the time, she'd gone to her orchard to feed some of her animals, and while she was checking on her fruit, she got the idea to pray. "I love praying out loud in the orchard…it's so beautiful and peaceful," she wrote. "I was about 15 seconds into my chat when I was surprised by a snake in the blueberry bush. Just a rat snake…nothing dangerous. But he was there…JUST as I began to pray. It obviously made me think…about God…about the devil. "The devil is always there…watching…lurking…even when we feel at our closest with God. Being a Christian isn't a free ticket out of trouble. The world is full of evil…BUT God is with us. The snake and I kept our eyes on each other…but I got what I came for, finished my prayer and went about my morning…having faith that Mr. Snakey and the devil will both be moving along…out of my orchard and out of my way!" Just before sharing her experience with the snake, Underwood detailed an experience she had canning, writing, "Canning is the perfect way to make use of everything and save myself some time later on when I need a quick meal!" She prepared soup and pot pie filling, then made some filling for cobblers. She admitted she "tried to do something with all the plums we've got growing here." And while she wasn't sure if she made "jam or plum butter or some sort of sauce out of it," she looked on the bright side, writing, "I'll figure out something to do with it! I feel accomplished!!! Yay me!" Underwood got her start in the music industry by competing on (and ultimately winning) season four of "American Idol," and she made news when she made the decision to return as a judge for season 23, which aired earlier this year. She found a way to tie in the new gig with her life on the farm, naming a lamb that was born the same day as the season finale of the show Jamal after winner Jamal Roberts. The "American Idol" set got another glimpse of Underwood's homesteading life during a taping in May when the singer arrived to work in a shirt she'd crocheted herself featuring tomato designs. In 2023, Underwood did a collaboration with Epic Gardening, a gardening brand with a YouTube channel. The team behind the brand traveled to her farm to help her build one of her greenhouses. There, she explained that as soon as she and Fisher moved to their home outside Nashville, they started working on the garden. But, in 2020, when the pandemic hit, they were able to really get something major started. "I love the heat here in Tennessee, and it just made me happy to, you know, grow something from nothing," she said. "It feels like little miracles every time I get something." In a 2023 episode of "The Dr. Josh Axe Show," she said that, with the farm, her ultimate goal was to no longer have to purchase any food from a store. At that point, she was still working toward the goal, admitting her children made it a bit more difficult, but added, "I love that our meals, especially dinner, it's like you look on our plate and everything on our plates is something that either came from the garden or my husband's a hunter, you know. The meat is something that he got. "We eat what we have. We eat seasonally. It all tastes delicious because it's food." Another important part to her, she explained, was that her home doesn't produce any food waste. Anything her family doesn't use either goes to her chicken coop or to compost, and they use it in another way. "It's fun," she said. "You know you're doing something good for you. It feels good to physically do all of these things."
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Yahoo
Country Singer Announces His Grand Ole Opry Return After Fatal Tragedy
Country Singer Announces His Grand Ole Opry Return After Fatal Tragedy originally appeared on Parade. Conner Smith is preparing to take the stage at the Grand Ole Opry less than two months after his involvement in a fatal car accident. The country singer, 24, announced via his Instagram Story that he will appear at the iconic Nashville, Tennessee, venue on Wednesday, July 30, marking his first performance since the tragedy. 'Grateful to step back on stage Wednesday,' he wrote. 'Thankful to the church of country music.' Smith's Opry return comes after he struck and killed a woman in Nashville last month. Smith was driving a pickup truck on June 8 when he hit 77-year-old Dorothy Dobbins as she crossed the road inside a crosswalk, according to the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department. The victim was transported to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where she died. 🎬 SIGN UP for Parade's Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox 🎬 'The preliminary contributing factor for this crash appears to be Smith failing to yield the right of way to the pedestrian,' police said. 'He showed no signs of impairment.' At the time, Smith's attorney confirmed to People in a statement that he was 'involved in a car accident that tragically claimed a life.' 'His heart goes out to Ms. Dobbins' family during this incredibly difficult time,' the statement added. 'Mr. Smith continues to cooperate fully with the ongoing investigation.' On July 10, the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department confirmed that Smith was charged with a misdemeanor for failure to yield the right of way resulting in death. The following day, Smith broke his silence on the tragedy in a statement via Instagram. 'Not a day has gone by that I haven't grieved, prayed and mourned for Ms. Dobbins and her family. My heart is broken in a way I've never experienced, and I still struggle to fully process the weight of it all,' he said. 'I ask that you continue to lift the Dobbins family up in prayer by name, asking for God's peace to surround them each day.' He continued: 'Out of respect for everyone involved and to give space for grieving, I made the decision to step away from shows these past few weeks. I have always found that making music and playing shows is a place of healing for me — but for this moment, it was important for me to take time away. I'm thankful to serve a God who is near to the brokenhearted, and I have leaned on Him every step of the way. Through tragedy, I have learned that God is more faithful than I could have ever known before.' Country Singer Announces His Grand Ole Opry Return After Fatal Tragedy first appeared on Parade on Jul 26, 2025 This story was originally reported by Parade on Jul 26, 2025, where it first appeared.
