Alain Chapelle [Ducasse's mentor], Alain Ducasse, Didier Elena - I learned from all of them.

It's a great pleasure for me and my team. It was a surprise. A good surprise.

He is the first chef-restaurateur who has dared to admit openly, and even elevate to the status of a doctrine, his belief that a chef can serve his customers with the world's finest food without constantly slaving at the stove himself. ... I have a very modern way of thinking; the chef is there to lead the team and not just to sit behind the piano.

a man obsessed: obsessed with perfection, sharing, aesthetics, taste, savoir-faire, and much more.

It's a Mediterranean garden on the roofs of Aoyama.

You need a good gardener and a good fisherman. The cook is not required.