Héritage by Kei Kobayashi opened on the 45th floor of The Ritz-Carlton, Tokyo in January 2024. Teruki Murashima, who had already collaborated with Kobayashi at AZURE 45, its predecessor at the same location, will serve as head chef. Kobayashi, known as the first Asian chef to win three Michelin stars in France, supervised the restaurant under his own name, making it the first restaurant of its kind in Japan.
The concept is a modern expression of classical French cuisine for tomorrow. This is a theme that is unique to him because of the neutral location in the middle of Tokyo, which is different from his restaurants in Paris, which focus on innovative cuisine that opens up the times and maintains a three-star rating, and on creating the Kei style, or Maison Kei in Gotemba, which is based on local production for local consumption and overlooks Mount Fuji.
Chef Murashima understands the theme well and has created an interesting balance of harmony by combining it with the path he has taken in his own career in French cuisine. After training in France as a young man, at a popular restaurant in Tokyo, and then in Italy for another year, he worked as a sous chef at the famous Monna Lisa restaurant in Tokyo. He then worked as sous chef at L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon Taipei and as head chef at Azil under the two-star Lionel Becca in Tokyo, where he earned a star. He has explored French cuisine from various angles, and the intertwining of tones between France and Mr. Kobayashi, who has pursued himself, creates a unique richness.
In this day and age, there is a great trend of exploring regionalism, and innovative, creative, and gastronomical cuisine and chefs are being born all over the world. TOKYO, as well as Michel & Sébastien.
As these trends grow stronger, there is a natural dynamic to rethink basic philosophy, culture, technique, and what one's own cuisine is all about in the midst of the times. The “classics for tomorrow,” conceived by two exceptional Japanese chefs in a Tokyo kitchen, from the French cuisine that has been etched into their bodies, express a sense of the times far more than the many innovative dishes that are vaguely categorized today. This is a clip you should definitely see. If you read the big words on the menu, it is royal French cuisine. You will gradually hear the echoes of today that are imbued in the food.