2013
KIHACHI
Restaurants weren’t familiar territory for
Moment in 2013, when the studio was
asked to design a space for renowned chef
Kihachi Kumagai. Serving contemporary
French cuisine to Japanese diners for 30
years, Kumagai has a back-to-basics ethos.
Moment suggested the concept of ‘eating
inside the kitchen’. ‘The ultimate luxury of
restaurant dining should be the privilege
of taking a seat behind the scenes,’ says
Hirawata, ‘where food comes straight from
the chef’s hands.’
The designers extended Kihachi’s
kitchen counters into the dining room.
Patrons sit alongside chefs in action, as
they slice, dice and cook over open flames.
‘Not many chefs are comfortable exposingtheir kitchens, which are not always very
tidy,’ says Hirawata. ‘Chef Kumagai was
initially hesitant.’ But Moment managed to
convince its client that sitting courtside
would provide guests with an unbeatable
and memorable dining experience.
After introducing the concept,
Kumagai began concocting menus that
demonstrate the kitchen’s inner workings.
‘The chef cooks,’ says Watabe, ‘but the final
touches are those of the guests. Cooking
and eating become a seamless act.’ The
designer explains that although he and his
partner ‘design the space, from then on our
job is done. It’s the users, the chef and the
staff who add value to the space and bring
it to life. It’s an organic process.’Moment’s first restaurant design involved a
challenge for client Kihachi Kumagai, who
had to accept a radical approach to dining by
exposing the inner workings of his kitchen.74 PORTRAITS