After studying Italian cooking in Japan, Yoji Tokuyoshi furthered his education in Italy but then struggled to find a kitchen position. Down to his last euros and waiting on a return flight to Tokyo at Milan Malpensa airport, he read about Osteria
After studying Italian cooking in Japan, Yoji Tokuyoshi furthered his education in Italy but then struggled to find a kitchen position. Down to his last euros and waiting on a return flight to Tokyo at Milan Malpensa airport, he read about Osteria Francescana in a travel guide and decided to give them a call there and then. Six year later and Tokuyoshi is now right-hand man to chef-patron Massimo Bottura at Francescana, considered one of the best restaurants in the world.
We recently got to see Tokuyoshi at work at The Loft Project in east London. Originally started by Nuno Mendes as a testing ground for his Michelin-starred restaurant Viajante, the space is now used for hosting up-and-coming chefs from around the world, who present specially-created menus to a small gathering of diners. Previous guests include Kobe Desramaults from In de wulf in Belgium, Sam Miller from Noma in Denmark, and Alex Atala from Dom in Brazil. The high ceilings, spacious ground floor and communal dining table encourage visitors to make themselves at home, and to wander through to the open kitchen where they can talk to the chef and watch dishes being built.
Tokuyoshi tells us (in Italian, translated by fellow Francescanian Enrico Vignoli) that the philosophy behind their restaurant in Modena is “not just about the techniques or ingredients. It’s how you build the meal. All our dishes are born from ideas that may have nothing to do with food. Maybe they come from a song stuck in Massimo’s head, a trip he took – just about anything other than cuisine.” Described by fellow chef and food writer Luciana Bianchi in NOWNESS as a “maverick” who takes his cues from the avant-garde, Bottura is also not without a sense of humour – see his famous Magnum ice-cream bar made of foie gras.
At The Loft, Tokuyoshi presents us with a menu born of a similarly broad approach, featuring nine vivid dishes with strong base flavours. Including, This is not Truffle – deep fried squid ink bread balls with roots, seaweed and samphire (“looks like wood, tastes like sea,” says Tokuyoshi), White on White… on White – a bright and delicate risotto with tomato gel, parmesan, basil essence and mozzarella foam, and Ash and Blood – a deft and challenging chocolate crumble with truffle and ash ice-cream, served with strawberry and beetroot sauce. For a performative finale, Tokuyoshi and his crew light up cigars and blow smoke into the mint ice-cream for a dish called From a London Dinner. And as with the best of performers, Tokuyoshi makes it all look so easy, moving calmly through each course in a manner that belies the overall complexity. “Creativity comes out while you're working,” he tells us. “New ideas arrive just from seeing, touching and smelling food.”
The Loft Project is not just another supper club. Barely working to a profit, it is a rare opportunity to watch chefs who have been given free reign at their creative best, and to enjoy the outcome with them. The project is hoping to move to a new space that will allow them to run a daily service alongside their signature dinners, but until then, each weekend some of the world’s brightest culinary stars will continue to take up residency at Quebec Wharf off the Kingsland Road.
Ananda and Neil visited The Loft Project on Friday May 20 from 7:30 – 11:30pm.
Ananda Pellerin is a London-based writer and Neil Wissink is a visual artist also based in London. Contact The Hunger here.
