Astil Hotel Juso Precious - Vacation STAY 16039v

Freshness is number one with the chef of Pierre, so he focuses on ingredients grown and raised in Japan. The menu only lists the ingredients, encouraging guests to give their imaginations free rein. Japanese seasonings such as mustard and chilli peppers mixed with yuzu zest lend a distinctive accent. French cooking techniques are married with Japanese ingredients, which are then prepared with a light touch. Spellbinding views from the spacious dining room high in a tall building add to the ambience.

Scrupulous attention is paid to the ceremonial space, cuisine, serving vessels and sense of the seasons. The chef learned his guiding principles at a restaurant in Hozenji Alley. Entrusted with preparing the appetiser platters, he became schooled in the knowledge and aesthetics of Japanese cuisine. Aiming for artistic beauty in all aspects, he grows his own flowers to decorate the sukiya interior and collects seasonal serving vessels to delight guests. Technique, experience and sensibility all merge to create assortments of dishes that celebrate the seasons and their festivals.

The tempura fried by the chef as his heart dictates comes out refined. To bring the flavour of carefully selected ingredients, the main oil of choice is Taihaku sesame oil. The coating is infused with bubbles, giving it a light texture. In a distinctive presentation style, seafood and vegetables that work well together are served in alternating pairs. The final dish is the guest’s choice of tendon, tempura over rice; tencha, tendon steeped in roasted green tea; or tenmusu, onigiri filled with shrimp tempura. The chef does not neglect training the next generation, either, entrusting understudie

The star of the menu is the bounty of the Hokuriku region. Seafood is delivered from the chef’s native Ishikawa Prefecture; seafood from every part of Ishikawa express the shifting seasons: Noto abalone, Nanao egg cockles, Chirihama oysters, and Kanaiwa male snow crab. As he cooks on an earthen charcoal brazier, the chef holds forth on their particular qualities and the passion of the fishermen with whom he does business. The restaurant name derives from the historic Higashi Chaya district of Kanazawa. From behind the counter, the chef waxes eloquent on the charms of his birthplace.

A dining room fit for a noble mansion, décor of stunning symmetry and graceful service by the waitstaff create a moment cocooned in splendour. Commanding the kitchen is Christophe Gibert, a native of Bretagne. Accustomed to life by the sea, Gibert makes extensive use of seaweed. His preparations, with their strong accent on sauces, convey his spirit of respect for classic cooking.

Over half a century since he opened his restaurant, Yoshifumi Mori remains vigorously engaged in food preparation. His passion seems unquenchable: with rice flour and salt, he created a seasoning that melts away like snow. He makes wine and even grows rice. Scouring every region of Japan, the chef seeks out unknown ingredients and introduces them to the world. All this has led to Mori being honoured by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. Like a steel plate polished until gleaming, he continues to sharpen his culinary sensibilities.

The chef spent years fine-tuning his skills in a Japanese restaurant in Hozenji Yokocho. While treasuring the lessons he learned there, he now blazes his own culinary trail. Mindful of how knife technique can affect the flavour of sashimi, he practises daily and his grounded approach to cooking is reassuring to watch. Bringing together everything he has learned over his career, he expresses it in cuisine of the ‘here and now’. Rather than just copy his mentor, the chef treads his own path in the gastronomic world.