Meet Our Founder
For those of you who don’t already know him, this is our founder & CEO: Guy Quirynen
Over the past seven years Guy has worked tirelessly to breathe life into his vision: sharing his passion for Japan, one bowl of ramen at a time.
2013 marked the opening of the first Umamido in Flagey, where Guy chose every element of the minimalist interior design, and crafted menus based on seasonality and quality ingredients. Once the space was ready to welcome his community, Guy spent every day working at Flagey – either in the kitchen or taking orders.
But let’s take a quick step back.
Why ‘sharing passion for Japan’? Why ramen?
In 2004, Guy went to culinary school to feed his growing interest in gastronomy before taking his new skills into the kitchens of two Michelin-starred restaurants. But the big catalyst came in 2010 when Guy arrived in Kyoto, Japan for a hospitality internship. New to the city, and very hungry, his search for a first dinner led him to a popular ramen shop where he experienced umami flavors unlike anything back home in Belgium.
He visited more and more ramen shops: creamy tonkotsus, rich paitans, and delicate shios… He was hooked. For the rest of his time in Japan, Guy tried every variety of ramen he came across, learning more about ramen’s unique culture (and cult following) along the way.
After wrapping up his studies, Guy couldn’t get the savoury and comforting flavor of ramen out of his head. Guy knew that he had to follow his passion. He immediately set about launching his first restaurant in Flagey, taking regular holiday trips back to Japan for fresh inspiration. And the name ‘Umamido’? Translated out of Japanese it means ‘the way of the savoury’ in the same way that Bushido means ‘the way of the samurai’. ‘Umamido’ is taking every possible action to craft a truly savoury, quality experience inside every bowl of ramen.
‘Umamido’ is a commitment to constant improvement. On his latest trip to Japan, Guy went so far as to follow a Master Ramen Chef course at Rajuku Ramen school and brought back key insights to improve all our recipes - particularly our fan-favourite mayu (roasted garlic oil). Bit by bit, Guy and the kitchen teams are perfecting our ramen recipes and following our ‘way to the savoury’.
And the rest, as they say, is history.