It is a tour of Parisian gastronomy through its most experienced Japanese cooks and cooks that Philippe Roux and Laure Angrand offer in their book entitled 30 Japanese chefs in Paris – Emotional and taste guide.
Skillet and sushi craftsmen are classified into several categories: purists and sweets, plus a rigorous selection of suppliers of fish (nine addresses), meat (nine addresses), vegetables (sixteen addresses), breads (nine addresses), enough to embellish the daily lives of readers and satisfy cooks.
The volume is prefaced by food writer Chihiro Masui, born in Tokyo and living in Paris for a number of years, and the presentation texts, signed by Sophie Marchand, are of real clarity. The photos of the dishes, two per cook or chef, are illuminating and tasteful. The book, very complete, is a unique invitation to sit down to eat, and the pairings of food and wine, sake or cider, are truly relevant.
You have to read these confessions of savoir-vivre and savoir-faire: this book of profound originality will be a landmark at a time when Japanese chefs are inspired with talent by the methods and preparations of the great French starred chefs.
Junko Kawasaki, chef at La Table du Caviste Bio
A student at the famous Tsuji school in Tokyo, she is sent to a gourmet restaurant where the machismo of the executives revolts her. She then turned to wines and pastry, and became a sommelier: a rarity for a Japanese chef.
Chef Junko Kawasaki. | The Organic Cellar
In 2005 she arrived in France, learned the language and returned to cooking at L’Os à Moelle by Thierry Faucher, then at the brasserie at 114 Faubourg du Bristol, next to the dream palace.
In 2012, at the age of forty, she made a decisive encounter in the person of restaurant owner Dominique Bry: both opened La Table du Caviste Bio, very close to Parc Monceau.
Dominique Bryan. | The Organic Cellar
It is there in this elegant restaurant that she will create a set of classic Franco-Japanese dishes, which attract a clientele of connoisseurs seduced by her pâté en croute, her sashimi, the Wagyu beef (great specialty), the lobster salad …
The Michelin was quick to spot chef Junko Kawasaki, praising her delicate, refined cuisine and the choice of organic wines. The prices are not given, but the raw materials such as fish from Rungis make excellent bases for the careful repertoire of this chef of the future who speaks the language of Molière perfectly.
Note that it was the rib steak and fries that aroused Junko Kawasaki’s gluttony and passion.
Breton lobster salad
The crustacean is steamed, served with a black Kurosu vinegar jelly flavored with apple and tarragon, accompanied by mashed potatoes. To be served with a blanc de blancs champagne or a Chassagne-Montrachet.
Pigeon
The poultry is cooked in three ways: confit leg, pan-fried fillet, supreme roast, with roasted steamed vegetables, turnips, carrots, onions, endives and rutabagas. Served with a red Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2012, Domaine de la Célestière.
The chef’s secret
For an apple Kurosu vinegar jelly, heat the vinegar and water to 80 degrees, add the gelatin, put the mixture on a plate and place in the fridge for two hours. It is a cold dish.
Dishes served at the restaurant La Table du Caviste Bio
Starters
- Tomato and watermelon gazpacho (12 euros)
- Salad of prawns and squid, pesto sauce (15 euros)
- The Iberian plate “Bellota Bellota” ham, piquillos and sardines (15 euros)
- Two-color asparagus, perfect egg, Colonnata bacon, parmesan foam (18 euros)
- The “Nigiri-Sushi” with Aburi-style Wagyu beef, lightly flambé raw (20 euros)
At La Table du Caviste Bio, the perfect egg salad. | The Organic Cellar
Dishes
- Steamed pollack, white butter sauce with herbs (28 euros)
- Grilled swordfish, virgin sauce, served with vegetables of the day (29 euros)
- Whole prepared sole meunière, market vegetables, 350 grams (32 euros), 450 grams (38 euros)
- Beef tartare with a knife, potatoes and salad (29 euros)
- Organic veal Tandoori, vegetables from the market (29 euros)
- Rack of organic lamb from Aquitaine roasted, mushrooms and new garlic (36 euros)
- Snacked mackerel with tapenade, eggplant caviar and virgin sauce (28 euros)
- Grilled Japanese Wagyu beef from Kagoshima and its garlic rice, mushrooms, vegetables and Japanese condiments (wasabi, ponzu, yuzu-koshô), 130 grams per person (68 euros)
At La Table du Caviste Bio, Japanese Wagyu beef and its accompaniments. | The Organic Cellar
Vegetarian dish
- Fried organic eggplant with soy sauce and ginger (22 euros)
At La Table du Caviste Bio, the fine organic vegetable tart. | The Organic Cellar
Desserts and Cheeses
- Floating spring and strawberry islands (11 euros)
- Organic fresh fruit salad (11 euros)
- The black forest of Brazil revisited in an ice cream cup and red fruit sorbet (11 euros)
- Matcha crème brûlée (11 euros)
At La Table du Caviste Bio, Crème brûlée with Matcha tea. | The Organic Cellar
- Red fruit parfait, organic vanilla ice cream (12 euros)
- Plate of three or five cheeses of your choice (13 euros)
Lunch menu at 27 or 35 euros
- Fish soup, croutons, coriander, garlic cream
- Calamari à la sétoise, rice pilaf, aioli and salad
Where
- Grilled vegetables with tomato, rice pilaf, aioli, salad
- Organic fresh fruit salad
Where
Dish of the day at 22 euros: organic flank steak, potato pancake, salad. Six-course gourmet menu (80 euros), food and wine pairing, three glasses (14 cl) + 40 euros.
The front of the restaurant La Table du Caviste Bio. | The Organic Cellar
55, rue de Prony 75017 Paris. Tel.: 01 82 10 37 02. Card from 50 to 80 euros. Remarkable selection of organic wines. Closed Sunday and Monday.
Accents
It is a pastry chef, Ayumi Sugiyama, who manages this excellent Japanese address near the Stock Exchange with Romain Mahi, head chef. She has been Michelin starred since 2019 because she delivers haute cuisine dishes: hare à la royale, wild turbot with lemon and oyster juice, barbecued scallops, quasi veal, Mesquer pigeon pie…
And extraordinary desserts for a Japanese table, a creamy praline, coffee ice cream, caramelized puffed rice: a staggering experience. The best Japanese restaurant in Paris?
Lunch menu in 4 courses at 52 euros or in 5 courses at 65 euros. At dinner, 6-course menu at 85 euros, vegetarian menu.
24, rue Feydeau 75002 Paris. Tel.: 01 40 39 92 88. Closed Sunday and Monday.
