Haute Confections

Natsuko Shoji

Asia’s Best Female Chef 2022 Natsuko Shoji of Été forges the path ahead for female chefs in Japan and around the region.

BY PRIYANKA ELHENCE

Earlier this year, Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants crowned chef-owner Natsuko Shoji of Été (Tokyo, Japan) as the 2022 recipient of the Asia’s Best Female Chef Award in their first ever pre-announced special awards. The restaurant ranked No.83 on the coveted list.

It has been a hard-won journey ever since Shoji’s interest in the culinary arts was piqued during her teen years after making cream puffs for a high school assignment. After graduation, she spent her formative years training under the highly acclaimed Hiroyasu Kawate of French-inspired Florilège (ranked No.39 in last year’s World’s 50 Best Restaurants).

In 2014, a young 24-year old Shoji ventured out on her own and opened a single-table restaurant and cake laboratory, Été, in the Shibuya neighbourhood of her hometown Tokyo, on a mission to become Asia’s Best Female Chef.

Été is named after the French iteration of Shoji’s first name, meaning “‘summer child” in kanji, and is the inspiration for Shoji’s own style, dubbed “an inimitable cuisine inspired by meticulous French technique, Japanese flavours and an unmistakable taste for haute couture”. It has earned her international acclaim from renowned chefs, including René Redzepi and Ferran Adrià. A year later, Shoji transformed the modest tart shop space into a highly prized, four-seat, invitationonly restaurant, further raising her profile in Tokyo’s competitive dining scene.

In December 2019, Été expanded to a six-seat restaurant where Shoji welcomes diners into her exclusive eatery for an intimate and indulgent 10-course sweet and savoury tasting menu, showcasing some of Japan’s finest ingredients and seamlessly bringing together her fashion and food sense to create stunning creations.

Ayu (Japanese sweetfish) is reimagined as a taco; a sea urchin tart is presented with cured egg yolk and Jinhua ham; and savoury mille-feuille is filled with shallot mousse and gooseberry pickles, and topped with caviar. On the sweet side, Shoji draws inspiration from iconic fashion houses and designer handbags, culminating in signature black jewellery box cakes that show a deep appreciation for seasonality along with some of Japan’s most prized fruits. Whether it’s her strawberry cake inspired by Louis Vuitton’s Damier print, or the peach cake modelled after the distinctive stitching on Chanel’s Matelassé bags, each cake contains prized Japanese fruits such as Yuki Usagi strawberries from Saga, red Sakura Momo strawberries from Tokushima, or white Shimizu Hakutou peaches from Okayama.

The Fleurs d’été Signature Mango Cake

Guinea Fowl in Fen Zheng Rou-style, Roasted Chestnuts and Rice Powder

Shoji’s hard work and determination earned her the title of Asia’s Best Pastry Chef in 2020, bringing her one step closer to her ultimate goal, which she finally realised just a few months ago.

We spoke to Shoji about her culinary journey thus far and what winning the accolade means to her.

What made you combine fashion and food to produce elegant confections?

I’ve found that there are many similarities between the culinary and fashion worlds, as both heavily rely on craftsmanship. I make cakes using beautiful Japanese fruits. Having visited many farms, I’ve found that it requires the tireless work of farmers to grow these fruits. From day to night, they take care of the farm harvesting the fruits only once a year. For me, these Japanese fruits are like jewellery made with craftsmanship. I consider myself a craftsman, and I try to make every fruit shine with my technique.

Fashion is also based on craftsmanship. If you look carefully at an item of clothing, you can see how much work was put into it. A fashion designer can showcase their own worldview on a magnificent scale through their fashion collection. I would like to give the same impression to my customers. In that way, I’m inspired by fashion.

My restaurant interior is designed through collaborations with top artists, which changes seasonally. I believe that art pieces also require craftsmanship so I try to connect and incorporate different styles of artistry in my restaurant.

What were the challenges you faced when you started your journey as a chef?

Due to working long hours in the kitchen, I suffered a spinal disc herniation and needed surgery. Another challenge I faced was when I tried to get a loan to open a restaurant. I was just a young female and faced prejudice and discrimination because of my gender and age so I couldn’t receive a decent loan when I first started. My first shop ended up being a tiny room in an apartment.

What do you consider to be the key to your success?

I think success is not a stable state. It is quite ambiguous. Sometimes, I am told that I’m successful, but I don’t consider myself so. Success is a result of self-discipline. It is important that every time I achieve one goal, I set a higher aim to reach the next goal.

What does winning this latest award mean to you?

Being named Asia’s Best Female Chef was one of my goals, and I’m so happy and honoured to have achieved that. However, I did not achieve this alone. It was with the great help of my staff, guests, and my mum who have supported me from the beginning so I am very grateful to them. I see this as a great opportunity to show the world my new and unique strategy of combining fashion and gastronomy. There aren’t many female chefs in Japan, so I hope to be a role model to them, and give them hope that they can achieve anything they set their mind to.

What are your insights on the future of food?

I’d like to see more restaurants with a small number of seats, like my restaurant! This would be an interesting movement for me.

What can be done to encourage more female chefs to join the industry?

It is important to let the world know that, if you create a masterpiece, you will eventually get acknowledgement, regardless of the size or location of your restaurant. Even though I faced many obstacles as a female chef, I am proud to have proven people wrong by racking up achievements. Next, I hope to encourage more female chefs to join the industry by striving to gain recognition on a more global scale.

Peach Cake, in collaboration with Tomo Koizumi Grilled Oysters, Caviar, Japanese “Seri” (water dropwort) and Noodle in Oyster Consommé