Latest news with #DanielCalvert
Forbes
01-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Daniel Calvert Would Love It If You Were Hungry When You Visit Sézanne
Chef Daniel Calvert serves French-influenced tasting menus at Sézanne in Tokyo. During the week of this year's World's 50 Best Restaurants awards ceremony, Daniel Calvert of Tokyo's Sézanne was at a Meet the Chefs event to discuss how dining preferences are shifting. Sézanne, of course, is one of the world's most celebrated restaurants. In 2024, it was named the Best Restaurant in Asia. And in this year's list of the World's 50 Best Restaurants, Sézanne rose from No. 15 to No. 7. At this point in his storied career, at the helm of the three-Michelin-starred Sézanne in the Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Marunouchi, Calvert knows he's already conquered the mountaintop. Like many of the chefs on the World's 50 Best Restaurants circuit, he's ready to speak candidly. So I ask if he's really seeing dining preferences change at Sézanne or if it's still more about guests submitting to a bucket-list experience. 'Most people come to us, and they're open to what we're going to do, rather than trying to change it into their own experience,' he says. 'We don't accept dietary restrictions. We don't accept any special requests. So they kind of have to be submissive to that. I think that's the sustainable way to cook. If we start opening ourselves up to allergies and restrictions and likes and dislikes, then it's not really what we do. But I think there's a big problem with people who are overindulgent.' Even when guests plan a trip around a bucket-list experience, they're often looking to check off many other things on other lists. (As a bang-bang instigator who has often planned multiple dinners in one night, I'm as guilty of this as anyone.) 'Especially when people come to Japan and Tokyo, they want to eat in a million different restaurants within a short period of time,' Calvert says. 'So I think they've forgotten what it's like to be hungry. Sometimes people come for lunch, but then they're going to another restaurant for dinner, so they don't want to eat too much. They just want to taste things, and I think that's not really acceptable. I think that people who are dining too much have been spoiled, and that's changing people's preferences.' For Calvert, it's about wanting guests to have an optimal experience. And the point he's making is that this isn't just in the hands of the restaurant. Sézanne riffs on a tarte tartin with Japanese ginger. 'If you haven't eaten a fine dining meal in a whole week and you are really ready for your meal, your excitement level is higher than someone who just had dinner wherever last night,' he says. "I think, of course, that it's down to the chef and the restaurant to provide a great experience. But I think the guests have to play their part in not over-spoiling themselves and being excited.' Calvert understands that a lot of overindulgence is driven by FOMO-inducing social media. But obviously, lists like World's 50 Best Restaurants also create FOMO and encourage guests to stack fine-dining meals when they visit certain cities. 'There's a certain group of restaurants that everybody wants to try, but then there's so many other restaurants that don't get as much attention that are also worthy,' he says. 'I think that's a fundamental issue with the [World's 50 Best Restaurants] list itself. There shouldn't be a restaurant that's on this list for 10 years. It doesn't make any sense. I think we need to be more open to other restaurants.' Calvert thinks about when he cooked at Hong Kong's Belon. 'We were empty most nights,' he says. 'Four covers on a Saturday. It was my first head chef job, and we were dying because we had certain people who enjoyed it but it was not commercially popular. We were very close to closing the restaurant, but then we got the 50 Best and it turned my career around. So who am I to keep staying on this list when there's other people who need this as well? Some of the restaurants who have deserved to be on the list probably closed. So it's up to you, the media, to put them on the map. like you did to me and not just keep voting for me.' He's making some good points. It's exhilarating when you find a bucket-list meal that hasn't received the spotlight yet. And you'll enjoy it more if you're hungry when you discover it.
Time Out
23-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
3 Tokyo restaurants named in the World's 50 Best Restaurants 2025 list
Following Tokyo's strong showing in Asia's 50 Best Restaurants earlier this year, which included nine local entries, the highly anticipated World's 50 Best Restaurants 2025 list has just added several more notches to the city's culinary belt. This year's rankings were announced at a ceremony in Turin, Italy on June 19 and include three restaurants in Tokyo and one in Osaka. Taking the top spot this year is Maido in Lima, Peru. It's run by Lima-born chef Mitsuharu 'Micha' Tsumura, known for his innovative take on Nikkei cuisine which blends the ingredients of his home city with the culinary techniques of Japan, where he has his roots. Maido was followed by Asador Etxebarri in Atxondo, Spain, Mexico City's Quintonil, Madrid's Diverxo and Alchemist in Copenhagen. Tokyo's highest ranking restaurant is Sézanne, which took the seventh spot, just behind Bangkok's Gaggan. Helmed by British chef Daniel Calvert, Sézanne continues to impress with its meticulous technique-driven cuisine highlighting seasonal ingredients sourced from across Japan. Elsewhere on this year's list, Tokyo's Narisawa re-entered the list in 21st place while Osaka's La Cime came in at 44. Florilège, which has relocated to Azabudai Hills, also secured a spot on the list, coming in at 36. Check out the full list of the World's 50 Best Restaurants 2025.
Tokyo Weekender
20-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Tokyo Weekender
The World's 50 Best Restaurants List 2025 Features Four From Japan
Tokyo is well known as one of the world's culinary capitals. It has the most Michelin stars across the globe, beating cities like New York City and Paris. From modest, hole-in-the-wall izakaya to elegant omakase sushi establishments and innovative fusion cuisine, Japan's capital holds endless intrigue for gastronomes everywhere. Eateries in Tokyo regularly feature on the World's 50 Best Restaurants list. One of the most respected and influential scales in the culinary world, the list is produced by the UK media company William Reed. With a panel of over 1,000 experts made up of food writers, critics, chefs and well-travelled gourmets, the organization releases it every year to celebrate historic and unique culinary experiences. This year, four restaurants in Japan — three from Tokyo and one from Osaka — made the World's 50 Best Restaurants list. Read on to learn about each establishment's specialty. List of Contents: Sézanne (No. 7) Narisawa (No. 21) Florilège (No. 36) La Cime (No. 44) Related Posts courtesy of four seasons hotel tokyo at marunouchi courtesy of four seasons hotel tokyo at marunouchi courtesy of four seasons hotel tokyo at marunouchi Sézanne (No. 7) Two-Michelin-starred Sézanne opened in July 2021, on the seventh floor of the Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Marunouchi. With British chef Daniel Calvert at the helm, the modern French restaurant quickly generated buzz for its incredible 12-course tasting menu that pays tribute to Asia's deep culinary cultures. Calvert previously led the acclaimed neo-Parisian bistro Belon in Hong Kong, after honing his skills at New York's Per Se and Epicure in Paris. At Sézanne, he curates each dining experience to reflect Japan's finest seasonal ingredients, highlighting elements such as bouillabaisse with saffron from Saga Prefecture and fugu (puffer fish) from Yamanashi Prefecture. Narisawa Dish "Satoyama Scenery and Essence of the Forest" Narisawa Dessert dish "Camellia and Koji" Narisawa (No. 21) Most gastronomes around the world would have heard of satoyama cuisine, and chef Yoshihiro Narisawa's vanguard cooking style. Traditionally, satoyama refers to rural landscapes where humans live in harmony with nature; in recent years, it has come to symbolize sustainability, a deep respect for the earth and the integration of humans and the natural world. Established in 2003 in Tokyo's elegant neighborhood of Aoyama, Narisawa has an omakase-style menu that fuses a variety of culinary techniques with the concept of satoyama. The two-Michelin-starred restaurant has earned international recognition for its quality, innovation and commitment to environmentally conscious gourmet dining — securing a Michelin Green Star, 14 consecutive years on the World's Best Restaurants list and numerous other accolades. You can learn more about Narisawa from our conversation with Chef Narisawa . courtesy of florilège courtesy of florilège Florilège (No. 36) Situated in the stylish Azabudai Hills, the two-Michelin-starred Florilège is a creative French-Japanese restaurant led by chef Hiroyasu Kawate, who comes from a family of chefs. He trained at Le Jardin des Sens in Montpellier, France, before working as a sous-chef at Quintessence in Tokyo. Kawate has a strong focus on sustainability when it comes to curating his menu, highlighting locally sourced ingredients and experimenting with plant-forward tasting menus. The restaurant promises to portray 'a new side of vegetables that everyone knows,' reducing the amount of meat, fish and dairy products used. courtesy of la cime courtesy of la cime La Cime (No. 44) Modern French restaurant La Cime is located in the business district of Honmachi, which is considered the heart of Osaka. Established in 2010, the restaurant is headed by chef Yusuke Takada, who trained in Lyon and worked at renowned Parisian establishments such as Le Taillevent and Le Meurice. Takada gained global recognition after receiving the Inedit Damm Chefs' Choice Award in 2020. La Cime's menu spotlights seafood and produce from the Kansai region, as well as citrus and other ingredients from the subtropical island of Amami Oshima. The menu's signature dish is the Boudin Dog, a batter-fried boudin noir (blood sausage) colored with edible bamboo and charcoal. Related Posts Narisawa: Where Foraged Flavors Become Culinary Art Osaka's Best Restaurant and Bar Openings: Spring 2025 Michelin Guide Introduces New Restaurants in Kyoto and Osaka for 2025
