Japan Echo Web

Why Tokyo Dazzles Michelin

Self-Rediscovery

Achieving such a renaissance will require that the Japanese themselves gain a fuller appreciation of their own culture. Often, praise from a nonnative can awaken such an appreciation, but I suspect that non-Japanese do not yet have a full grasp of the true value of Japan’s food culture.

I say this because, for me, the real culinary capital of the world is not Tokyo but Kyoto. It is in Kyoto where Japanese culture is most refined, owing to its 1,200 years as the nation’s capital. If one wants a taste of other countries, though, then Tokyo is the place to go.

I was invited by a friend the other day to dine at Le Mange-Tout, a two-star French restaurant in Ichigaya. It is a true standout among the many establishments in Tokyo serving French food. I am invariably disappointed with the poor quality of Japanese food served abroad. So I think that for a French restaurant in Japan to win accolades from French critics is a stunning feat. And indeed, the dishes prepared by owner chef Tani Noboru had a certain dynamism capable of winning over the gourmets of Paris, as if to say, “This is what French food tastes like when prepared by a Japanese chef.”

I would not be surprised if Japanese chefs came to dominate French cuisine in countries around the world, and in fact this may already be happening. As I enjoyed the meal prepared by chef Tani, I was reminded of a comment made by Yoshimura Takao, owner of the Georgian Club (one star in the 2008 edition), when I invited him to a sushi restaurant in a residential neighborhood of Meguro. “As far as I know,” the French restaurant owner said, “there’s not a single chef in France or Italy who can match the degree of perfection exhibited by this restaurant’s master chef.”

It surprised me to hear such words from a man who had sampled all the French food there was to taste in France, and who himself ran a shop that a French organization had commended with a star. The sushi restaurant in Meguro is an exclusive establishment that will turn down first-time customers without an introduction, so there is no possibility of it becoming listed in a Michelin Guide. There are actually countless numbers of such outstanding, unlisted shops in Japan that remain hidden from public view. Such is the profundity of the world of Japanese cuisine. A Japanese renaissance will occur if the Japanese people come to share more deeply in the spiritual foundations of their native food culture.

Translated from “‘Mishuran Gaido’ ga Tokyo o zessan suru riyū” Voice, July 2010, pp.136–45; shortened to about half. (Courtesy of PHP Institute) [August 2010]