While much of the world is still on pause, Japanese chefs Zaiyu Hasegawa of Den and Hiroyasu Kawate of Florilège – No.3 and No.7 in Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2020 respectively – are positively pressing ahead their new restaurant, Denkushiflori, which will open in Tokyo in October. Here, they tell us what to expect from their first collaboration and why diners should look to support their local restaurants
Tokyo restaurant fans have a hot new opening to look forward to this October, courtesy of two household names in Japan’s cooking elite. For Zaiyu Hasegawa and Hiroyasu Kawate, inspiration struck during a night-fishing session – and it wasn’t long before the project went from idea to execution, with the duo securing a space at Jingumae 5-46-7 in the Omotesando neighbourhood of the Japanese capital.
“We are the same age, and we both opened our restaurants around the same time,” Hasegawa and Kawate explained dually to 50 Best. “We became very good friends as we were going through similar ups and downs. We have always had the idea to be partners and open a restaurant together, so it’s been something long in the making.”
Kawate and Hasegawa on a fishing trip
The restaurant’s name also shares its essence: it’s a play on Hasegawa’s and Kawate’s flagship restaurants, Den and Florilège, with the addition of ‘Kushi’, which means ‘skewer’ in Japanese. “In every dish, we will use skewers, but this doesn’t limit us to yakitori [grilled chicken skewers] as people may expect. Kushi is also used in a metaphorical sense. Every dish will be Den and Florilège combined. We want our ideas to be linked and merged into one. It is not French; it is not Japanese. It is something we create together,” said the chefs.
While the menu is still under wraps – with Hasegawa and Kawate revealing only that it will have a strong focus on seasonal ingredients combined in novel ways – the signature dishes will be unique to Denkushiflori and the restaurant design will be equally idiosyncratic. “The setting will be a bit like Florilège’s, with our guests sitting around the open kitchen so everyone can watch as their food is being prepared,” they added. “There will be a big kamadosan [furnace] in the middle of the kitchen, with donabe [clay cooking pots] and charcoal grills.”
Florilège's restaurant interior
Most of all, the chefs are looking forward to working on a new project together following the difficult months of the pandemic. “With the coronavirus situation, one thing we have been reminded of is that a restaurant is not only a place for eating; it also holds an important place as we cook for others to cheer them up. Food is nourishing to the body as well as the heart,” they said. “By working together, we can get new ideas and help others, especially in this challenging time. This is also different from the pop-up collaborations that we have done before. By working on this as a long-term project, we can really let our ideas evolve and grow.”
Both chefs are highly respected figures in Japan and their reach extends to the rest of the world. Hasegawa opened his playful kaiseki restaurant Den in 2007, most recently winning the Art of Hospitality Award for The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2019. Kawate’s Florilège, an imaginative modern French restaurant, first won the One To Watch Award in 2016 and has remained within the top ten of the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list for the last three years.
The chefs take their role as leaders seriously. “Within the F&B industry, a lot of people have lost their jobs due to coronavirus. As a restaurant without a genre, we hope that Denkushiflori will allow young cooks of different backgrounds, be it French or Japanese, to be able to have a space where they can continue to work and achieve their dreams,” they said.
“It will be tough with the pandemic, but it provides us with a unique opportunity to try something different and challenge the current dining scene in our country, as we believe there hasn’t been a collaboration restaurant in Japan yet. We hope that Denkushiflori will remind people of the special place restaurants have and encourage them to support local restaurants.”
Header images: Kawate's eggplant dish; the chefs at the space that will host Denkushiflori; Hasegawa's monaka dish
Browse the full list of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2020 on the website and discover all the individual awards recognising the work of chefs and restaurants in the region. Follow 50 Best on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube for the latest news and initiatives in support of the global restaurant industry.
