Chef Kei Kobayashi became the first Japanese chef in France to ever win the maximum of three Michelin stars on Monday, for his eponymous restaurant Kei in Paris.
Kai was amongst a whole host of Japanese chefs to sweep up prizes for their haute cusine at the prestigious Gala of Michelin Guide 2020 in France yesterday evening. Kazuyuki Tanaka was also awarded an impressive two starts for Racine, his French restaurant in Reims, as was Yasunari Okazaki for his Franco-Japanese fusion food at L’Abysee au Pavillon Ledoyen in Paris. Kai acknowledged this in his acceptance speech commenting “There are lots of Japanese chefs now in France and you have accepted us and given us a place…thank you, France”
Kei, who opened his eponymous restaurant in Paris nine years ago, has wowed discerning diners and critics alike over the past decade with his signature dishes that include sea bass cooked on its scales and Scottish smoked salmon with roquette mousse and a tomato vinaigrette with lemon emulsion. He has been lauded for his extraordinary talent for elevating the most simple of dishes into culinary masterpieces. However he was quick to admit that his perfectionism comes at a cost; “I am quite hard. I ask a lot of my team, and then I ask a lot more,” he quipped.
On awarding Kei the highest distinction in French cooking Michelin commented “It’s very simple. Every dish that Kei turns the rigour of his attention to is called on to become a signature one,” further adding that his cooking style is both “delicate and memorable”.
Kei grew up in his father’s restaurant in Japan serving traditional multi-course Kaiseki cuisine but soon developed a fascination with French cookery after watching documentaries on Michelin-starred chef Alain Chapel. His restaurant in Paris which he runs with wife Chikako is a small, sparse space serving classic French food. Kei explained that the interior is intentionally nondescript because “my cuisine provides the necessary touches of colour”.
If you can’t make it to Paris, here’s where to find the best Michelin-star restaurants in London