{"id":50966,"date":"2024-05-15T09:43:06","date_gmt":"2024-05-15T09:43:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/15\/first-he-conquered-paris-now-a-japanese-chef-wants-to-become-a-brand\/"},"modified":"2024-05-15T09:43:06","modified_gmt":"2024-05-15T09:43:06","slug":"first-he-conquered-paris-now-a-japanese-chef-wants-to-become-a-brand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/15\/first-he-conquered-paris-now-a-japanese-chef-wants-to-become-a-brand\/","title":{"rendered":"First, He Conquered Paris. Now, a Japanese Chef Wants to Become a Brand."},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1050\" height=\"550\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/05\/13\/multimedia\/00japan-chef-01-fghz\/00japan-chef-01-fghz-facebookJumbo.jpg?resize=1050,550&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"First, He Conquered Paris. Now, a Japanese Chef Wants to Become a Brand.\" title=\"First, He Conquered Paris. Now, a Japanese Chef Wants to Become a Brand.\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In cooking, timing is everything. So much so that if the chef Kei Kobayashi spots diners heading to the restroom as he sends a dish out from the kitchen, he stops them. Nature\u2019s call can wait; his culinary offerings should be tasted at peak flavor.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Such imperiousness and exactitude align with what Mr. Kobayashi, the first Japanese chef to earn three Michelin stars for a restaurant in Paris, said he had learned from one of his earliest mentors in France: The chef is king.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cUnless you commit to your worldview to this extent, you won\u2019t be able to be a chef,\u201d Mr. Kobayashi, 46, said during a recent interview in Tokyo.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Having earned his third star \u2014 the maximum \u2014 for his <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/guide.michelin.com\/en\/ile-de-france\/paris\/restaurant\/kei\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Restaurant Kei<\/a> in Paris in 2020, he has now expanded his ambitions back to Japan, where he has opened four restaurants over the past two years.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The goal, Mr. Kobayashi said, is to become a brand. In that sense he seems to be emulating <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2015\/04\/02\/t-magazine\/monaco-alain-ducasse-restaurant-makeover.html\" title=\"\">Alain Ducasse<\/a>, at whose now-closed Paris restaurant, Plaza Ath\u00e9n\u00e9e, Mr. Kobayashi worked before opening his own in 2011.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">He also joins a line of creative Japanese \u2014 including the artists <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/09\/26\/arts\/design\/yayoi-kusama-queen-of-polka-dots-museum-tokyo.html\" title=\"\">Yayoi Kusama<\/a> and <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2005\/04\/03\/magazine\/the-murakami-method.html\" title=\"\">Takashi Murakami<\/a> \u2014 who first found fame outside their homeland.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mastering the art of French cooking has become something of a Japanese specialty. In Tokyo, which has more Michelin-starred restaurants than any other city in the world, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/guide.michelin.com\/us\/en\/tokyo-region\/tokyo\/restaurants\/3-stars-michelin?sort=distance\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">four of the dozen restaurants<\/a> awarded three stars feature French cuisine.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Kobayashi wants to show how French food can evolve with seasonal Japanese ingredients, he said in the interview, just hours before the official opening of <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kei-collection.com\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Kei Collection Paris<\/a>, his new restaurant on the top floor of the Toranomon Hills Station Tower in Tokyo.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">At Kei Collection, he has sneaked some classic Japanese comfort dishes onto the menu, including curry and breaded beef cutlet, alongside fancier items like butter-roasted large clams, smoked bonito with white cheese foam, or delicate hand rolls of tuna and caviar.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">For the restaurant\u2019s opening, Mr. Kobayashi, his hair dyed platinum blonde, wore a traditional chef\u2019s double-breasted white coat embroidered with three Michelin stars over black trousers and green suede New Balance sneakers. An Audemars Piguet watch was strapped to his wrist.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">He spoke modestly, rejecting descriptors like \u201cfirst class\u201d or \u201cgenius\u201d and saying he never allowed himself to think he had reached the pinnacle of cooking. But Mr. Kobayashi appeared coiled and a little aloof, belying his humble words.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">His uncompromising approach is embodied by what he said was his favorite French phrase: \u201caller plus loin\u201d \u2014 go further.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cIf you make a compromise, or think \u2018OK, this is good,\u2019 then it is time to quit,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">His attention to detail extends beyond the food. \u201cHe cares about the furniture selection and the interior, the softness of the sofa,\u201d said Tadashi Nobira, manager of Esprit C. Kei Ginza, another one of Mr. Kobayashi\u2019s new restaurants in Tokyo. \u201cHe cares to the last centimeter.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Just minutes before a guest arrived for a solo lunch with the chef on opening day at Kei Collection earlier this spring, Mr. Kobayashi was adjusting the volume of a curated jazz collection playing in the dining room.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Kobayashi grew up in Nagano in central Japan, where his father worked as a chef. His mother cooked homemade meals every night, including his favorite, curry rice. But Mr. Kobayashi said he did not learn to cook from either of them.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Instead it was a documentary about the French chef Alain Chapel that first captivated Mr. Kobayashi, who envied the chef\u2019s crisp white jacket. Forgoing high school, he took a job at a local French restaurant, where, as he recalled, he spent four years in which \u201cthe chef just kept getting mad at me.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">At 19, Mr. Kobayashi moved to Tokyo to work for Ikuo Shimizu, a mostly self-taught chef who gave his apprentice basic training in how to work with meat and fish.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cHe was very mischievous, but he had a strong backbone,\u201d Mr. Shimizu said in an interview at his eight-seat restaurant in a quiet neighborhood in Tokyo, where he serves rustic French meals. \u201cI thought he was really an artisan. He was particular about the details, like the shape of the knives and how to sharpen them.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Having fixated on French cuisine, Mr. Kobayashi decided he needed to move to France. An acquaintance helped him land a job at Auberge du Vieux Puits in the Languedoc-Roussillon region, where he worked for four years under the tutelage of the chef Gilles Goujon, who has also earned three Michelin stars.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In a video interview, Mr. Goujon said he was immediately struck by the young cook with bleached hair.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">With a touch of stereotyping about Japanese prowess, Mr. Goujon first assigned Mr. Kobayashi to the fish station, instructing him with gestures and cookbook illustrations. Even on days off, \u201che wanted to come and work,\u201d Mr. Goujon said. \u201cSo we had to lock the restaurant so he could go and rest.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">After two seasons at the fish station, Mr. Kobayashi tried to convince his boss that he had developed allergies and needed to switch to meat and game. Mr. Goujon was amused, and he eventually moved Mr. Kobayashi to the meat station to learn how to debone birds, deer and wild boar.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Kobayashi also worked briefly at a patisserie in Provence and at a restaurant in Brittany. The latter didn\u2019t go well, he said. \u201cAt the time, there was a movement to make French cuisine more scientific, and I didn\u2019t agree with that,\u201d he said. \u201cI went to learn Breton cuisine, not science.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">He worked at Mr. Ducasse\u2019s Plaza Ath\u00e9n\u00e9e for seven years before going out on his own, buying a restaurant whose chef was retiring.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cMaybe I was stupid,\u201d he said, \u201cbut I figured the cooking would work itself out.\u201d He was worried, however, about whether he could support the staff he was hiring, who \u201cwere putting their lives on the line.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Within a year, he earned his first Michelin star; the second came five years later. After the third, he decided to make the move back to Japan.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In addition to Kei Collection Paris and Esprit C. Kei Ginza, Mr. Kobayashi has opened a restaurant at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Tokyo and one in Gotemba, near Mount Fuji. The Gotemba and Ginza restaurants are collaborations with Toraya, a centuries-old Japanese confectionary company.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">With Mr. Kobayashi spending most of his time in Paris, he handpicked chefs to run the kitchens at the new Japanese restaurants, relying on them to develop dishes based on local ingredients.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Teruki Murashima, 50, the chef de cuisine at H\u00e9ritage by Kei Kobayashi at the Ritz, said he talked frequently by phone with Mr. Kobayashi and sent him photos of dishes and lists of ingredients.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWe both may make completely different dishes with the same ingredients,\u201d Mr. Murashima said in an interview at the Ritz. \u201cBut we know that about each other, and we respect each other.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Still, Mr. Murashima said, Mr. Kobayashi is \u201cvery particular about certain things, and really gets quite angry if things don\u2019t reach his standards.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">At times, Mr. Kobayashi is prone to remind customers of those standards. If a diner takes out a cellphone to snap a picture of a dish, said Mr. Nobira, the Ginza restaurant manager, Mr. Kobayashi might appear at the table, encouraging the customer to take a bite right away instead.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Is he, then, a king? \u201cI might be close to one,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-798hid etfikam0\">S\u00e9gol\u00e8ne Le Stradic contributed reporting from Paris.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/05\/15\/world\/asia\/japan-chef.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In cooking, timing is everything. So much so that if the chef Kei Kobayashi spots diners heading to the restroom as he sends a dish out from the kitchen, he stops them. Nature\u2019s call can wait; his culinary offerings should be tasted at peak flavor. Such imperiousness and exactitude align with what Mr. Kobayashi, the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50967,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/05\/13\/multimedia\/00japan-chef-01-fghz\/00japan-chef-01-fghz-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2815,9944,50967,121,4987],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50966"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50966"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50966\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50968,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50966\/revisions\/50968"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50967"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50966"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50966"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50966"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}