In Paris, chefs Chizuko Kimura and Kei Kobayashi make their mark

Japan Times

a day ago

Japanese chefs making a name for themselves in Paris is not a new phenomenon. The city is filled with such talents plying their trade in everything from sushi bars to French fine dining. But two chefs have been in the spotlight recently after earning Michelin accolades and making history: Chizuko Kimura and Kei Kobayashi.
The 55-year-old Kimura, who runs the 10-seater Sushi Shunei, is the first female sushi chef in the world to earn a Michelin star. Her achievement, which she earned in March, comes on the back of a challenging journey to maintain the legacy of her late husband, Shunei Kimura, who opened the restaurant in 2021. He earned a Michelin star after only nine months of operation but passed away from cancer in June 2022 at the age of 65.
What's more impressive is Kimura had no professional training as a chef before she joined her husband at Sushi Shunei: She was working as a Tokyo-based outbound tour guide and met Shunei in 2004 in Paris, who was working as a chef in a sushi restaurant. They married in 2005 and she moved to the French capital in 2008. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Japanese tourists stopped arriving and her work dried up, prompting her to help her husband open his own restaurant.
The 47-year-old Kobayashi's career, on the other hand, follows a more conventional route. The Nagano-born son of a chef moved to France at the age of 21, determined to break into the top ranks of the culinary world. After four years at the then two-Michelin-starred L'Auberge du Vieux Puits in Loire Valley, Kobayashi joined Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athenee, where he worked for seven years before opening his eponymous restaurant, Kei, in 2011.
In 2020, Kei was awarded three Michelin stars, making Kobayashi the only Japanese chef to earn such a distinction in Paris, an achievement he has maintained till this day.
The two chefs spoke to The Japan Times on their achievements, culinary styles and future ambitions.
With no professional background as a chef, Chizuko Kimura of Sushi Shunei had much to prove when she took over the restaurant set up by her late husband. |
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Chizuko Kimura
You didn't come from a culinary background. How did you train to be a sushi chef?
When Shunei was diagnosed with cancer in 2015, he didn't tell anyone and continued to work because he didn't want people to be worried. I was helping him with some fish preparation but I didn't learn how to make sushi then, as I was hoping he could recover. But once he could not walk anymore and had to be hospitalized, it was clear that I needed to become a sushi chef to take over his role and keep the restaurant running.
In the daytime (before we opened for dinner), I trained with Tomoyuki Yoshinaga of Sushi Yoshinaga, another sushi chef in Paris. In April 2023, we hired Takeshi Morooka, former sushi chef of Sushi Ginza Onodera Paris, to help me. Today we work alongside each other in front of our guests.
Is it easier for a woman to be a head chef in France than Japan?
Yes, if this was Japan, I don't think it would have happened. Maybe there is a 'ladies first' culture here, but French people in general tend to be nicer to women, children and the elderly. They know the sushi world is male-dominated, so when I make sushi, most people give me a positive reaction.
I don't think there are any disadvantages to being a female sushi chef, although a short person like me sometimes has difficulty cutting a huge fish like tuna or salmon. I've been learning many skills from Morooka, such as cutting big fish.
The 10-seater Sushi Shunei offers Michelin-starred "omakase" (chef's choice) to diners. |
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Sushi Shunei lost its Michelin star in 2023 but regained it this March. Tell us more about this journey.
When we lost the star, we knew we were not ready but we didn't close the restaurant. Last year, we changed the dining counter, from white birch to traditional hinoki cypress, and also hired a sommelier to increase the variety of sake on our menu and improve the food pairings. We wanted to focus not only on the sushi but the whole dining experience. I'm sure Shunei watched us from above and was happy (at us regaining our star).
Is your culinary approach any different from your late husband's?
Shunei was very traditional. He didn't accept guests who were vegan or vegetarian, but I'm happy to serve such customers — I'm the one who will be making sushi for such diners throughout the course.
What are your goals in the near future?
To be consistent and get the star again (next year). One day, I hope to be good enough to use Shunei's knife and say to him, 'I've overtaken you.'
The son of a chef, Kobayashi knew from a young age that he wanted to be one of the top culinary talents in the world. |
RESTAURANT KEI
Kei Kobayashi
How has your culinary style evolved since you opened Kei in 2011?
I received my first Michelin star in 2012, and when I couldn't get the second one, I struggled to understand why — it was the toughest period for me. I tried many culinary styles but nothing was working. So I solicited advice from someone who visits fine dining restaurants often. He told me, 'Your dishes are too complicated.'
Since then, the style of my cuisine has changed: I realized the most important thing is to simply enhance the beauty of the ingredients in my own way.
That being said, I don't want to categorize or describe my cuisine. I leave that to the diners who taste my food.
You earned your third Michelin star in 2020. What was it like trying to maintain this level of excellence during the pandemic?
Even before I got the three stars, I was planning to renovate Kei. So we closed the restaurant for more than a year to do its refurbishment while I used the time to do research and development in the kitchen. I was also thinking of ways to enhance the brand by launching different variations of it, just like how a fashion brand would have different lines. This gave me the opportunity to work with a 500-year-old wagashi (traditional Japanese sweets) producer, Toraya, to open my very first restaurant in Japan, Maison Kei, in 2021 in Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture.
Did you introduce any Japanese culinary techniques to your cooking?
Yes — charcoal-grilling, inspired by my experience dining at kaiseki (multicourse Japanese haute cuisine) restaurants in Kyoto. I recently brought back several beautiful portable charcoal grills, which we may use for tableside service.
Kobayashi's eponymous restaurant is known for its beautifully plated dishes that flaunt the nuanced textures and colors of ingredients, such as this langoustine with hibiscus flowers. |
RICHARD HAUGHTON
How has French fine dining evolved in Paris in recent years?
Just like fashion, the trend cycle of French cuisine lasts 10 to 15 years. It is now returning to classic fare, where the sauce is ever so important. But it's not going back to the same exact place where it last left: The sauce of choice — its popularity in French cuisine — has evolved, for example, from demi-glace to fond de veau (brown stock) and now, jus.
The fine dining market is also more competitive. You need to think about what diners want and not have an attitude like, "I'm the chef so you will eat what I make.'
What is your ultimate culinary goal?
What I would like to achieve is simple and clear: To create a dish that will be called a classic 100 years from now. It's not necessary that my name be remembered — I want to be a drop of water in the great river of classic French cuisine.
What life advice do you have for the younger generation today?
I feel that Japanese people are not working hard enough these days. Of course, we now live in a different era, but I want younger Japanese to be hardworking and sincere, like the generation before them. (If you work in France), then you should ask yourself, 'What is the benefit to the employer for hiring me instead of a local?'
We are evaluated by the virtue of our Japanese predecessors who have worked here. Not only must we appreciate this quality, we need it for the next generation to succeed.