The thoughts behind the deliciousness of 【SALONE TOKYO】 created by the entire team led by double chefs.

ーーーWhat kind of experience have you gained so far?

Chef Kazushige Aoki (hereinafter referred to as Chef Aoki): After gaining experience at several Italian restaurants in Tokyo, I moved to Italy in 2013 and trained for about three and a half years at a restaurant in the Piedmont region of Italy. After returning to Japan, I joined the Salone Group and after working as a chef at 【SALONE 2007】 in Yokohama, and have been serving as a chef at 【SALONE TOKYO】 since July 2022.

Chef Uhwa Kim (hereinafter referred to as Chef Kim): After working at several French and Italian restaurants in Tokyo, I joined Salone Group in 2018. After working as an assistant chef at 【SALONE 2007】 and honing my cooking skills for about 5-6 years, I was appointed as the chef at 【SALONE TOKYO】 in April 2024.

ーーーWhat do you value when cooking?

Chef Aoki: It's natural to make delicious food, but beyond deliciousness, I place importance on what else to add. For example, each dish expresses things like surprises, or the chef's ideas.

What I specifically focus on is “how to remove unnecessary things and make the most of the ingredients.” In order to convey the appeal of the main character of the dish in an easy-to-understand manner, I have taken measures such as reducing the portions of ingredients other than the main character. Especially since I became a chef at 【SALONE TOKYO】 and started actively visiting production areas around the country, my local experiences have become a source of ideas for how to make the most of ingredients.

Chef Kim: I want to create dishes that surprise and excite customers by creatively combining ingredients and expressing them.

For example, one of the October course meals that is currently in the prototype stage is an appetizer dish of soused mackerel with seasonal persimmons garnished like gari. I'm trying to express the sweet-sour and refreshing taste of gari by combining persimmons that have been fermented with lactic acid to increase their sourness and flavor, and fresh persimmons.

Chef Aoki: The Salone Group adopts a double chef system, and the chef is in charge of everything from selecting ingredients to cooking, so the appeal of each restaurant is that you can enjoy the cuisine that brings out the individuality of the two chefs.

ーーーWhen you were selecting ingredients, were there any production areas that left an impression on you?

Chef Aoki: I've been visiting all over the country, and the experiences I've had in each production area have left a lasting impression on me, and it's many times more stimulating than researching in books or on the internet. The best source of inspiration for our cuisine is what we can get locally. 

What was particularly impressive recently was an encounter with a producer in Fujinomiya City, Shizuoka Prefecture, who handles substandard vegetables that are rarely distributed in the market. For example, “Fushimi Amanaga” is usually shipped green, but when it ripens and turns red, it becomes sweet and delicious like fruit. The person suggested, “There are moments in a vegetable's life that you don't know about, but are actually even more delicious,” and it was a stimulating experience full of inspiration.

ーーーWhat kind of dishes do you offer using local ingredients?

Chef Kim: The September course meal using handmade pasta is based on the experience I had on a visit to Hokkaido in July. We use Royal Mangalica pork from Tokachi, Hokkaido, and mushrooms also produced in Tokachi. 

Pork is characterized by its rich lean meat and fat that melts in your mouth. The producers let their pigs graze on large areas of land and are very particular about fertilizers, and I realized that if the pigs are raised carefully, the taste will be different.

ーーーMost of the ingredients are shipped directly from the producers.

Chef Kim: Because we are in Tokyo, we have to order ingredients from all over the country to make our dishes, and I think being able to serve our customers dishes using seasonal ingredients delivered directly from the farm is a unique appeal of a restaurant in Tokyo.

Chef Aoki: I look at the ingredients directly at the production area, talk with the producers, and if I find something interesting, I actually order it and think about how to use it in my dishes. The Salone Group has a culture that allows us to take on a variety of challenges, so we are able to pursue high quality products through trial and error.

ーーーHave you noticed any changes in your cooking since you started going on inspection tour more actively?

Chef Kim: I have been working with Mr. Aoki since 【SALONE 2007】 in Yokohama, but since he started going on inspection tours all over the country, I have the impression that Mr. Aoki's cooking has become even more powerful. Mr. Aoki's cooking expresses his personality so well that when you eat it, you can almost see his face.

Chef Aoki: For example, the September dinner course, “Naruto pomfret charcoal aroma, black maitake mushroom trifoliate from Sakegawamura and clam butter sauce from Lake Shinji'', is a combination of seasonal ingredients from summer and autumn.

We use clams from Lake Shinji in Shimane Prefecture, black maitake mushrooms from Sakegawamura in Yamagata Prefecture, which we use every year, and pomfret from Naruto in Tokushima Prefecture with a touch of charcoal flavor.

ーーーHow do you divide the roles?

Chef Aoki: For course meals, Mr. Kim and I mainly make the plates, but we provide thorough guidance so that whoever cooks, including the kitchen staff, can provide high-quality food. For example, we pay close attention to details such as the size of ingredients and how to arrange them, and we quantify the weight to the nearest 0.1 gram.

Chef Kim: Ingredients are easily affected by the season and climate, and the texture of pasta flour in particular changes depending on the humidity of the day. There are some aspects, such as how soft the flour is when kneading, that can only be covered not only by numbers but also by the chef's years of experience.

ーーーAfter selecting the ingredients and creating a prototype, how is the course meal completed?

Chef Aoki: Once we have a prototype, we examine each item one by one with the help of the manager and kitchen staff and make modifications. Afterwards, once the course meal is completed, we hold a tasting session to pair it with wine and further exchange opinions. At the end, all the staff, including the service staff, taste the final course dishes, and the dish is complete.

Chef Kim: We prepare the dishes in this way every month, and all the staff members participate in preparing the course meals. Chefs do their best to create delicious food, and then trust and entrust the food to the service staff who serve the food.

ーーーIs the taste of 【SALONE TOKYO】 possible because of the team?

Chef Aoki: The feeling of “deliciousness” comes from the delicious food prepared by the chef, the explanations from the service staff, and the surprise when the customer actually tastes the food, and I feel that I am able to cook 100%. Cooks alone cannot make 100% of the food.

For example, in the course dish of black maitake mushrooms and clams mentioned earlier, we use the kelp and freshwater clam stock, then the fish stock from the clam stock, and then the mushroom stock as well. There are so many steps involved in making a single dish of soup that I can't even list them on the menu.

It is not possible to explain everything when serving food, but I believe that this creates surprise and curiosity for the customer, such as, “What is this taste coming from?” and “I don't know what it is, but it's delicious.” This leads to the deliciousness of the food.

That's why I think the strength of not only the chef, but also the entire staff, including the service staff and wine sommelier, is so important.

ーーーPlease tell us about your future prospects.

Chef Aoki: We would like to provide our customers with seasonal ingredients at their best. Up until now, we had to go through tasting events and other events from the time we got the ingredients at the production area to the time we provided them to our customers, so the delivery was done the month after the inspection.

However, we want to serve the ingredients in their best condition and at that moment, so the September course meal using porcini was served at the beginning of the season, whereas it would normally take a month to serve it. We immediately decided on this and started offering it.

I think 【SALONE TOKYO】 was probably the first in the group to take such an approach to freshness, but I would like to create a system that allows other restaurants to offer products tailored to the best season.

Chef Kim: I would like to be able to express my individuality more through cooking, and be able to create dishes that I can say are my own.

There is a chef at a French restaurant where I used to work, who is now opening a Japanese restaurant based on French cuisine.The way he uses ingredients and combines dishes is innovative, and he expresses his own unique world view.The moving experience I had there has greatly influenced my current direction, and at 【SALONE TOKYO】 I would like to aim to provide exciting dishes to our customers.

Chef Aoki: The unique charm of double chefs is that you can enjoy dishes that showcase the individuality of two chefs, something that cannot be enjoyed by just one chef. I'm the type of person who focuses on the main ingredient and eliminates unnecessary things, and Mr. Kim, who is good at combining and layering various ingredients, can be said to be the exact opposite type.

By structuring the course menu so that dishes created from different ideas come together in waves, you will end up with a well-balanced meal that you will never get tired of. This team has just started, so I hope that by merging our personalities, we can take things to the next level and offer even higher-level cuisine.

ーーーLastly, please tell us what "delicious" means to you both.

Chef Aoki: Of course the food tastes delicious, but I believe that the customer's sense of "deliciousness" is born from the combination of all the information that the customer hears, the restaurant's interior, and everything else that can be experienced in that place and at that moment.

Chef Kim: I think the “delicious” taste at a restaurant is something that can be experienced in an extraordinary space that is different from everyday meals. You can only feel that the food is delicious because you eat it at that restaurant. At 【SALONE TOKYO】 I would like to continue to pursue our cuisine so that we can offer deliciousness that can only be tasted here.

Located in Tokyo Midtown Hibiya, as you pass through the luxurious entrance, you will find yourself in an open dining room with a view of the Imperial Palace and the lush greenery of Hibiya Park from the windows. In a high-quality yet relaxing space, you can enjoy an elegant moment with Italian cuisine and wine created in pursuit of the latest ristorante flavors.

Interview and text/ Yuka Sada
Photography/ Tomohiro Yasui