Paris:
Chizuko Kimura has turn into the primary feminine sushi chef on the planet to win a Michelin star, fulfilling a promise she made to her dying husband to proceed his legacy.
The 54-year-old Japanese chef regained the Michelin star her late husband Shunei Kimura received three years in the past for his or her Sushi Shunei restaurant in Paris.
For Shunei, the star was a dream come true. Nonetheless, the enjoyment was shortlived. He died from most cancers simply three months later in June 2022 aged 65. The next yr, the restaurant within the coronary heart of Montmartre misplaced its star.
Kimura insisted that the brand new star remains to be right down to her husband. “If Shunei had by no means acquired a star, I would not have been notably hooked up to acquiring one myself,” she advised AFP.
“However he was proud that his restaurant was recognised. So this star has turn into crucial to me,” she mentioned in her tiny conventional “sushiya”, which solely seats 9.
The Michelin was glowing in its reward, saying a “sensorial journey is assured due to the dexterity with which the nigiri are made, the use and dealing of very good fish and the delicate seasoning.”
However Chizuko Kimura by no means got down to be a prime chef, solely falling into the enterprise when her husband, who had labored in France for many years, determined to open his personal restaurant.
“He was already sick at the moment, and that is once I began serving to him. I used to be working as a tour information and misplaced my job resulting from Covid,” she mentioned.
She discovered at his facet the right way to minimize the fish, prepare dinner the rice and the right way to run the restaurant whereas caring for him as he grew iller.
“I acquired higher daily and I nonetheless practice on my days off. I’m at all times learning,” she mentioned, travelling again to Japan when she will to proceed her coaching there.
After her husband’s passing, Kimura took over the reins of the restaurant. She strengthened her crew by hiring grasp sushi chef Takeshi Morooka, refined the eating expertise by including “tsunamis” (small appetisers usually served with sake) to the menu, modified the rice recipe, and up to date the cooking gear.
Three years later, Sushi Shunei regained its Michelin star. “My first objective is to take care of this star,” Kimura mentioned, “and to maintain it, we should attempt to supply even higher service and guarantee impeccable high quality.”
Historically, turning into a grasp sushi chef requires a minimum of a 10-year apprenticeship. Kimura acquired her star in simply 5.
“If this recognition can encourage or encourage different girls, I shall be very glad,” she mentioned.
And he or she’s not stopping there. Her objective now’s to surpass her husband’s achievements as a tribute to his work and his reminiscence.
(Aside from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is printed from a syndicated feed.)
