Four adventurous Japanese chefs are redifining the Parisian dining scene with a fusion of classic French cooking and traditional techniques from their home country.

<a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/travel-living/french-restaurants-nyc-dining-guide">French cuisine</a> is defined by its rich sauces and heavy use of butter. Japanese cuisine is defined by its simplicity; its editing. While the signature dishes from both countries are seemingly polar opposites, they do have one thing in common: both French and Japanese cooking are extremely&nbsp; technical.
Japanese chefs Atsushi Tanaka, Kei Kobayashi, Terumitsu Saito, and Yoshinori Mori&eacute; are bringing traditions and ingredients from their home of <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/travel-living/gen-z-travel-destinations-2024-trendy-barcelona-lake-como-kyoto-slovenia-vacation">Japan</a> to the fine dining scene in Paris. Their <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/travel-living/paris-restaurants">restaurants</a> represent true innovation in fusion: they take the best of both French cooking and Japanese cooking and turn them into a singular <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/travel-living/the-award-winning-connaught-bar-is-the-pinnacle-of-luxury">luxury experience</a>, perfect for foodies always looking for the next best thing. Here, read about the Japanese chefs who are revolutionizing the <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/travel-living/parisian-haute-cuisine-dining-french-food-beverage-culture">Parisian dining scene</a> and, simultaneously, redefining what French cooking can be.&nbsp;

Chef de Cuisine, A.T. (1 Michelin star)

Chef Atsushi Tanaka, photos by Richard Haughton

Atsushi Tanaka 

Atsushi Tanaka dining room, photos by Richard Haughto

L'OFFICIEL: When you were younger, what was your relationship with French cuisine?&nbsp;
ATSUSHI TANAKA: When I was young it was not about French cuisine, but rather Western cuisine.&nbsp;
L'O: What was your training?
AT: I started working in the kitchen at the age of 16, and I worked my way up through the ranks, starting at the bottom. Going from dishwasher to clerk was not easy.
L&rsquo;O: Which chefs have had the most impact on you?
AT: Pierre Gagnaire [head chef and owner of the eponymous restaurant at 6 rue Balzac in Paris]. Working with him [Gagnaire was Tanaka&rsquo;s mentor early in his career] had a profound impact on me.
L'O: Any classic French dishes that appeal to you?
AT: Sea bass, or sea bass in a crust with Paul Bocuse's Choron sauce [tomato-spiked B&eacute;rnaise].
L'O: What are your signature dishes?
AT: Abalone, which I work in three ways, and two dishes that have become classics: spider crab with carrot and tonka; and the &ldquo;camouflage:&rdquo; Banka trout smoked with juniper and parsley.&nbsp;
L'O: The accepted clich&eacute; is that French cuisine is hearty, and that Japanese cuisine is refined. What do you think?&nbsp;
AT: It may have been true before, but French cuisine has evolved and is no longer copious or heavy.

Chef de Cuisine, KEI (3 Michelin Stars)

Portrait of chef Kei Kobayashi, photo by Richard Haughton

Kei Kobayashi

KEI dish

The KEI dining room

L&rsquo;OFFICIEL: When you were younger, what was your relationship with French cooking?
KEI KOBAYASHI: I didn't have a clear idea of ​​what French cooking was. The revelation, for me, was while watching a documentary on television about [French chef and restaurateur] Alain Chapel. I was impressed by the class and intelligence of this leader. Hearing him say that &ldquo;cuisine is much more than recipes&rdquo; changed my destiny.
L&rsquo;O: What was your training?
KK: I trained in French restaurants in Nagano and Tokyo, where I became familiar with the products and the fundamentals: cutting, cooking, sauces. And then I came to France. It's been 20 years now.
L&rsquo;O: Which chefs inspire you the most?
KK: All the chefs who have welcomed me into their kitchen are my mentors. Everyone has their own identity, but we all have excellence in common. In Japan, I learned to work with fish. With Gilles Goujon, I understood the meaning of the word terroir [the combination of factors that gives a wine its distinctive character], and Michel Husser taught me about meat and game. Alain Ducasse taught me the importance of the product. With Jean-Fran&ccedil;ois Pi&egrave;ge, I understood what a three-star restaurant is, and why it is necessary to focus on the details. With Christophe Moret, I learned how to train teams and how to create a good atmosphere with high standards.
L&rsquo;O: What&rsquo;s appealing to you about French cuisine?
KK: When I started my apprenticeship, I was amazed by the number of sauces. There were sauces for everything: fish, meats, vegetables&hellip; and don&rsquo;t even get me started on the vinaigrettes.
L&rsquo;O: Which dishes do you have the most fun reworking?
KK: I love game season. I really like making the pillow of the Belle Aurore [a technically complex meat pie made with truffles, foie gras, game, and poultry].
L&rsquo;O: The accepted clich&eacute; is that French cuisine is hearty and that Japanese cuisine is refined. What do you think?&nbsp;
KK: In the past, this was true. dishes were often served very hot, which erased the flavors, and the sauce often masked the taste of the central ingredient, making the whole thing quite monochrome. Today, this has evolved, and we respect traditional functionalities while making the recipes more modern and less cumbersome.
L&rsquo;O: What are your signature dishes?
KK: One of my signatures is the crunchy vegetable garden. In this dish [featuring zucchini, radish, and cauliflower presented as if they&rsquo;re sitting in a delicate garden bed], I concentrate on the five senses to create harmony between tender and crunchy. Harmony is really what I seek to convey on a plate.
L&rsquo;O: How do you marry your identity as a chef working in France and your own history, your origins?
KK: I combine aesthetics, precision, and the harmony of colors and nature from Japan with the balance of flavors, delicacy of texture, subtlety, and refinement of France. My kitchen is certainly a bicultural cuisine, but it reflects my personality.
L&rsquo;O: What are your favorite products to work with?&nbsp;
KK: Difficult to choose. I like everything. If I had to choose a Japanese product, I would say miso. Among the French products, I particularly like French vegetables [fennel, potatoes].
L&rsquo;O: How do you define your cooking philosophy?
KK: I seek to make cuisine that satisfies the soul, not just the stomach. I always wonder how to stimulate the five senses, how to stay in people's minds and hearts.

Chef de Cuisine, Ōrtensia (1 Michelin star)

Portrait of Chef Terumitsu Saito, photo by Richard Haughton

Terumitsu Saito

L&rsquo;OFFICIEL: When you were younger, what was your relationship with French cooking?&nbsp;
Terumitsu Saito: Ingredients from the environment were on my mind where I grew up. The products of the land and sea&hellip; the abundance of nature in my home region has greatly influenced my cooking, which is centered on reflecting the truest taste. My idea of ​French cuisine, in short, is a way of arriving at this truth.
L&rsquo;O: What was your training?
TS: I went to culinary school at the age of 16. It was obvious that this was the path I was going to take.
L&rsquo;O: Which chefs do you admire?
TS: As a young man, I was impressed by Alain Ducasse&rsquo;s reputation. Today, I would say Rasmus Kofoed, the chef at the restaurant Geranium in Copenhagen. It's not about admiration per se, but of the most beautiful and complete culinary experiences that I [have had] in a restaurant.
L&rsquo;O: What classic French dishes inspire you?
TS: The Pithivier [pie made by baking two disks of puff pastry, with savory or sweet filling in between].
L&rsquo;O: Which ones do you have the most fun reworking?
TS: Vegetables, more than everything else.
L&rsquo;O: The accepted clich&eacute; is that French cuisine is hearty and that Japanese cuisine is refined. What do you think?&nbsp;
TS: In my opinion, French cuisine is a cuisine of addition, and Japanese cuisine is one of subtraction.
L&rsquo;O: What are your signature dishes?
TS: Beef tartare with dashi jelly, potato mousse smoke, and caviar. It is the symbiosis between what customers expect and my desire to progress as a chef.
L&rsquo;O: How do you marry your identity as a chef working in France with your Japanese roots?
TS: My style, if I have to summarize it, is the choice of textures and ingredients. A touch of classicism from French cuisine combined with the techniques of my Japanese influences.
L&rsquo;O: How do you approach seasoning in your cuisine?
TS: By authenticity, neither hiding nor disguising the product. As a result, I am on a perpetual quest for umami. It's necessary that the plate is flavorful.
L&rsquo;O: How do you define your cooking philosophy?
TS: A real frankness in the execution and a selection of professional products based solely on taste.

Chef de Cuisine, Yoshinori (1 Michelin star)

Portrait of Chef Yoshinori Morié, photo by Anne-Claire Héraud

Yoshinori Morié

A Yoshinori dish, photos by Anne-Claire Héraud

The Yoshinori dining room, photo by Anne-Claire Héraud

L&rsquo;OFFICIEL: When you were younger, what was your relationship with French cooking?
YOSHINORI MORI&Eacute;: I grew up in Japan on the island of Shikoku, where Western cuisine was familiar to us. Around the age of 17, in my high school library, I had access to works more specific to French cuisine. My first boss, in Japan, told me about Escoffier&rsquo;s A Guide to Modern Cookery, a great discovery!
L&rsquo;O: What was your training?
YM: After high school I joined a French cooking school in Japan, with part of the course completed in France, in Lyon. Then I joined Thierry Marx&rsquo;s team in Cordeillan-Bages, and then I quickly had the opportunity to become a chef with a passionate sommelier-restaurateur for a few years. Today, I still attach as much importance to my cellar as to my kitchen.
L&rsquo;O: Which chefs inspire you the most?
YM: Michel Bras, Bernard Pacaud, Bernard Loiseau, and Alain Chapel, for their emotional approach to cooking.
L&rsquo;O: And what classic French dishes inspire you?
YM: The royal hare and game in general, with their smell of earth, and their autumn colors. They always express and represent the French culinary heritage.
L&rsquo;O: The accepted clich&eacute; that French cuisine is hearty, and that Japanese cuisine is refined. What do you think?
YM: It&rsquo;s precisely the perfect marriage; France and Japan are equal. There&rsquo;s freedom in both.
L&rsquo;O: What are your signature dishes?
YM: Scottish grouse ballotine; veal tartare; oyster with leek charcoal.
L&rsquo;O: How do you define your cooking philosophy?
YM: It is a priesthood more than a philosophy. It requires discipline, dedication, regularity, and energy. I long for a lively kitchen which nourishes the body and, if possible, the imagination.

These Japanese Chefs Are Revolutionizing the Parisian Dining Scene

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