ete (ete) Tokyo

Another stunning meal at ETE. Natsuko was just crowned best femal Chef of Asia by WB50 and for whatever it is worth she must certainly be one of them, no doubt.
This meal was a assemblage of trusted signature dishes like her ayu taco and the tile fish in asparagus soup and some new seasonal dishes. All of them delicious, some of them also very interesting and unusual. Like the morchella filled with horse meat tatar. Deep fried with the meat on the inside being juice and full of umami, a great play with tastes and texture. Another great dish was the bamboo shoots (takenoko) topped with steamed abalone. In between she put a source made out of the liver of the abalone. Another great play, the softness of the abalone offset by the crunchiness of the bamboo glued together by the umami of the liver sauce. Excellent.
All of this comes with the casual hospitality of Natsuko being the host, the chef and the server at the same time. The intimacy of the small one table dining room for six leaves the impression of dining at her home and not in a restaurant. A great place for a special occasion. And for any other!
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Ete is a tiny place with just one table for six people and an even tinier kitchen. Chef Natsuko Shoji works there with her small team but still finds time to manage the entire front office. Yes, it is only six people, but still there is serving the dishes, clearing the plates and making sure everybody has wine and water. All of these tasks get disposed off with a causal easiness which is stunning.
Her food is plated with the beauty one is accustomed from her world famous cakes. However, most importantly the taste of her dishes is of the highest level. She kicks you off with uni toast with a restraint uni taste, following with a gazpacho like dish of shrimp in a tomato broth.
The two main course where her famous Amadai, this time seasonally in a Matsutake soup and a beef stew covered with truffles. Great layering of flavors and taste.
This the second time I ate her food (and not the cakes) and I think it is very good. I would eat it with great pleasure sitting outside on her bench in the garden. Being inside and experiencing her marvelous hospitality makes this a great meal. Less

Miyazaki mango cake (Natsuko Shoji)
宮崎県産マンゴーケーキ

庄司シェフの代名詞、アイコニックなマンゴーのタルト。

テーブルに薔薇を舞い散らせるプレゼンテーションが圧巻。

一つのデザートの完成度を徹底的に高めるだけでなく、そのプレゼンテーションやストーリーテリングにも拘り、真似できない独創的な世界観にまで昇華させているのが見事。

エレガントなコラボレーションの締めくくりに相応しい。

2021年4月

été x SÉZANNE Four Hands Lunch
「エテ」x「セザン」コラボランチ

#mangocake #mangotart #マンゴータルト #マンゴーケーキ #ete #sezanne #natsukoshoji #danielcalvert #fourhands #エテ #セザン #庄司夏子 #ダニエルカルバート #コラボ #tokyoeats #東京グルメ
#michelin #tabelog #ミシュラン #食べログ #worlds50best #asias50best #アジアのベストレストラン50 #世界のベストレストラン50 #opinionatedaboutdining
#美味しいもの好きな人と繋がりたい #旅好きな人と繋がりたい #食べるの好きな人と繋がりたい #レストラン好きな人と繋がりたい #外食好きな人と繋がりたい Less

There are many meals in your life.
Some are so-so, some are good and some are great.
And then you have these special meals, they one you will never forget.
For many reasons.
And this is one of them.


So here I was excited to venture to the restaurant of the only female Chef who is on the WB50 Asia list.
I went there not for her cakes, but for a collaboration meal together with Daniele Calvert, newly minted Chef of Sezanne in Tokyo. A combination which is prima-vista super interesting.

The Doctor and the Beauty. 
(This without invoking any prejudice to skill and gender.)

Daniel, as a protégé of Thomas Keller, paired with his humble and curious personality, creates food which is restraint while complicated, but unbelievably tasty. I wonder why a young man like Daniel has the courage to hold back as much as he does. His focus on the main ingredients combined with a few other symbiotic additions is simply astonishing. One dish to underline my point. Look at the Saba “Escabeche” with Hamaguri. Purity on a plate! The taste of the saba matches the taste of a Saba nigiri of Sugita san. Stunning.

Natsuko, the world’s most famous cake maker, is probably cursed by the fame she created by the beauty and taste of her cakes. At least for me, it eclipsed her ability to create complex and excellent dishes. Her passion for fashion translates into the design of her dishes, but be no fool, they are really tasty. The combination of flavors and top notch execution creates stunning, very well tasting dishes. For example, the difference of viscosity, acidity and texture of her Amadai dish is a lecture of how one can create pleasure in one’s palate. Go there and experience it, I am sure you will agree.

I don’t know why and how I got invited to this collaboration (which lasted just for a few days), but I am thankful. A collaboration rarely works, but this one not only worked, but sparkled. I believe every word when I hear about all the effort this stunning, extraordinarily creative team put into this pas de deux and I am grateful to have been part of this.

PS: Full disclosure. 
Unknown to me, the organizers decided to treat the guests on that particular day I have been there for the meal and drinks. Normally I never accept comps etc. I did not know about it, when I agreed to come, I am, however, very grateful for the generosity and hospitality of the Hosts, Natsuko & Daniel. 
But I want to emphasize, that if I had had to pay for my meal and wine, nothing which I wrote above would have been different.

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