the highest class of Japanese knife, made from
just one piece of steel. This knife is from a maker
considered the god of sword, god of knives in
Japan – it’s very expensive. And this is my first
knife which I bought 17 years ago. It takes months
to make one of these.”
Eyeing the knives cautiously, I tactfully pose my
most contentious question of the interview.
How can the restaurant justify its £300 per
head price tag, for a set menu, excluding drinks,
and a strict rotation of two sittings per night?
The explanation was genuine and persuasive.
“Traditionally, sado would be an intimate, one-
on-one experience in beautiful gardens in Kyoto.
So to be the host and look after the needs of 10
guests attentively and individually is intense,
with a lot of personal interaction. Deliberately,
guests are placed at only arm’s length from the
chefs and can watch all the preparation: when I
fillet the tuna there’s a real wow factor – it’s not
something the guest sees every day.”
“What’s more, we have only 10 covers
and use very expensive fish that has to
be bought daily, plus luxury ingredients
like white truffles. Our guests have the
experience of watching the head chef
prepare their meal personally – go to any
other three Michelin star restaurant and
that’s unlikely to happen. I’m here every
day doing the same thing, me personally
cooking for you and it’s a theatrical
experience – a once-in-a-lifetime exclusive
dinner. We’re also in the heart of Mayfair,
which is not a cheap area of London.”
Theatre is one thing, but Michelin stars are
very much about the food, so why does Araki
think he got his? He laughs: “It’s a mystery to
me! Maybe it’s because I’ve experienced some
very fine hospitality elsewhere and havetrained my palate so that every dish is equal to
the best. If not, I won’t serve it. There is huge
rigour in maintaining that very high standard
every day. I also hope I have the awareness
and humility to realise that you are learning
every single day until you die.”With such an accolade under his belt, what’s
next? “There is a huge growing interest here
in the art of sushi so this is exciting for young
chefs to learn about. This means going to
Japan and one day I’d love to train sushi chefs
in Japan, which is now opening up much more
to other cultures. Sushi is a craft that doesn’t
require much man power. As long as a chef
has enough determination to do it, he can go
it alone, which is very appealing as it makes
the business plan much simpler. For all his talk
of theatre, art and exclusivity, it seems Araki is
also very much a pragmatist.