Alexis MOKO is the chef/owner of a beautiful restaurant in a large converted townhouse in Marutamachi, Kyoto. In his second year of business, he has received a Michelin star. It seems like a good start, but it has only just begun to come through the tunnel of trials and tribulations brought on by the pandemic storm.
Born in the Parisian suburb of Versailles, he graduated from culinary school and spent six years studying at Taillevent in Paris before moving to London to hone his skills at The Ledbury, Eric Frechon's Lanesborough Hotel, and the Connaught Hotel, an elite of the elite.
However, COVID came along when he and his Japanese wife and children moved to Japan, a country with a treasure trove of food products, as their next destination. The job they had planned disappeared and they had to start from scratch. What to do and how to do it? Knowing people, Kyoto, the surrounding environment, and the nature of Ohara, the path opened up.
They do not use imported ingredients, including French ingredients. Everything is produced in Japan, mostly in Kyoto. He uses the French cooking method that he has continued to explore. He does not mix and match. He serves high quality, seamless, and solid contemporary French cuisine with French wines in a space that is typical of a deep Kyoto machiya (traditional townhouse). It is an outstanding gastronomy experience.