Allié

No chef is an island, and Tadashi Harashima and Kenichiro Sasakura understand this more than most. This philosophy, in fact, informs the entire concept of the chef-sommelier duo’s Azabu-juban restaurant. Chef Harashima’s French technique is shaped by his experiences in Michelin-starred restaurants like Alexandre by Michael Kayser and Les Jardins des Remparts. Sommelier Sasakura’s career, meanwhile, has taken him to establishments like Beige Alain Ducasse and Dominique Bouchet, and even netted him a position as manager of Aoyama French restaurant L'Embellir (now naoto.K). But both remain cognizant of the fact that they would not be where they are today without the support of their suppliers, colleagues, seniors and customers. As such, the pair’s joint venture was christened ALLIÉ — ”ally” or “companion” in French. Part of the respect that they pay to their suppliers is visiting them personally to choose the freshest possible seafood, meat and produce. This is done not just to guarantee that the food served to the customer is of the highest quality, but also in order to ensure that the hard work that the farmers and fishermen put into the ingredients is adequately conveyed to the diner. The origins of the ingredients are proudly displayed in the menu, so guests can freely trace their corn back to the Hoshino Farm in Gunma, or their charcoal-grilled lamb back to the Sakai ranch in Hokkaido. Once expertly prepared by Chef Harashima, sommelier Sasakura picks up the responsibility of pairing the food with the perfect complement of wines from the restaurant’s carefully curated collection.