Ryuji TESHIMA

Chef : 2 restaurants

Presentation

"To be quite honest, my mother didn't cook very well, so I savored the moments we spent in restaurants, as a family. " At the age of 16, Ryuji Teshima - aka Teshi - discovered a passion for gastronomy. He set off on a motorcycle trip to discover the produce of northern Japan. After studying cooking, he continued his apprenticeship in France in 2004. "When I got my working vacation visa, I was very happy. I was finally going to be able to familiarize myself with this culinary culture."

The young commis sharpened his first tricolored knives in Épernay, at the restaurant Les Berceaux, then at Lucas Carton, in Paris. But Teshi doesn't just want to cook, he also wants to get closer to the products to better understand them. To deepen his knowledge and hone his cutting skills, every Saturday he joins Hugo Desnoyer's butcher's shop, which supplies some of the world's top chefs. He also took part in internships in New York, Spain and Los Angeles...

In 2011, enriched by all these experiences, Ryuji Teshima takes up his first position as chef at Pomze, where he conceptualizes a cuisine around the apple, a product he magnifies in every possible way. Before changing direction: "The restaurant was bistronomic. I wanted to focus more on gastronomy, in the style of Michel Bras. After tasting his dishes, it was all I could think about!"

With Naoko Oishi, a pastry chef and sommelier he had met in the kitchens of a top Parisian restaurant, he decided to take the plunge and set up his own restaurant: Pages opened its doors. The start convinced Gault&Millau, who, the following year, awarded him 3 toques and the Grand de Demain trophy for the Île-de-France region. "It's the first prize I've received for my restaurant. My cuisine has a Japanese identity, but is prepared using local produce and French techniques."

B. G.