Kei KOBAYASHI

Chef : 1 restaurant His signature dish, his eponymous book, his knives, the meaning of his first name, his career... Find out everything you need to know about Japanese chef Kei Kobayashi.

Presentation

In 1977, a little Japanese boy was born in Nagano, whom his parents named " Kei ", meaning " clairvoyance ". He grew up learning about flavors and aromas in an izakaya, a traditional restaurant serving small dishes, where his father was the cook. But it was Alain Chapel's TV show that made the young Kei Kobayashi aware of his vocation: he would become a chef in France.

Training for excellence

He began his training in Nagano with Norihiro Nakamura, who passed on his passion for gastronomy, then in Tokyo with Ikuo Shimizu, who taught him the pleasure of cooking. In 1998, he left for France, with only a thousand euros in his pocket, but ready to prove himself. He wrote hundreds of letters until Gilles Goujon, Chef of the Auberge du Vieux Puits, welcomed him to his brigade in Fonjoncuse (Aude). There, he discovered the importance of terroir and team spirit.

His career continued at Le Prieuré restaurant in Villeneuve-lès-Avignon (Vaucluse), where Serge Chenet introduced him to pastry-making. Then, from 2000 to 2003, he was chef de partie at Michel Husser's in Marlenheim (Bas-Rhin). His real revelation came at the Plaza Athénée. He stayed there for seven years, working alongside his mentor Jean-François Piège, and Christophe Moret, for whom he became second-in-command.

Chef-owner and author

In 2011, he realized his dream by opening Restaurant Kei in Paris, with the support of his wife Chikako. It was here that he created his signature dish "le jardin de légumes croquants", featuring raw and cooked seasonal vegetables, smoked salmon herbs and flowers, topped with a lemon emulsion and black olive crumble.

Chef Kei also owns four restaurants in Tokyo, Japan, and is the author of three eponymous books published by Chêne and Flammarion. A little background: Kei Kobayashi has a Japanese namesake, a master knife-maker known for his exceptionally sharp knives.

Biography & Awards

1977 naissance à Nagano, au Japon

1999 quitte le Japon pour rejoindre Gilles Goujon, à Fontjoncouse

2003 rejoint Jean-François Piège au Plaza Athénée

2011 ouvre son restaurant Kei, rue Coq-Héron, dans le 1er arrondissement de Paris

2014 Publication of his first book, "Kei", by Editions Chêne

2019 Publication of his second book "Kei 2" by Editions Chêne

2021 Opening of "Maison Kei" in Gotemba town at the foot of Mount Fuji

2022 Publication of his third book "Kei III" by Editions Flammarion

2022 4 toques

2023 Eritage by Kei Kobayashi" opens at Tokyo's Roppongi station in the Ritz-Carlton hotel

2024 Kei Collection Paris" opens on the 49th floor of Tokyo's Toranomon Hills Station Tower