Masaki Sugisaki – Food for Thought
Dining etiquette in Japan is a minefield for the unenlightened. It is seen as curseworthy to stick your chopsticks in rice (it reminds people of incense at funerals) and it is ill-mannered to have too much soy sauce or raise your food above your mouth. It’s considered polite to take a large (and audible) slurp of your noodles to convey appreciation and also to conclude your meal with gochisōsama deshita (“thank you for the feast”). And another thing, if you wish to avoid committing the mother of all faux pas, don’t even think about burping, munching or blowing your nose.
There is not only a long and rich history of formalised and ritualised manners in Japanese dining etiquette but also in the culinary discipline. The title of the head chef or Itame (“in front of the board”) is a coveted title and requires decades of honing a craft that is premised on attention to detail, quality produce, and impeccable presentation.
For the Japanese chef, Masaki Sugisaki, the traditional way these chefs operate shaped the foundation of his culinary skills. But at Dinings SW3, where he is chef-patron, Sugisaki has carved his own path – paying respect to his disciplinarian ancestors and their fine-tuned hospitality while also integrating European influences through an evolved Izakaya style of cooking.
Born in Saitama city, Japan, Masaki Sugisaki spent his childhood in Ashikaga, a city two hours from the capital of Tokyo where his family ran a traditional kaiseki restaurant. As the oldest son, it was presumed that Sugisaki would take the reins of the family business, so he spent his formative years cutting his teeth working as a waiter, a kitchen porter, chef and commis. “I hated it,” Sugisaki confesses when recalling the crushing weight of responsibility. “After school, all my friends were out having a good time, and I had to go back and wash the dishes.”
“However, eventually, I began to find it — especially the seasonality of traditional Japanese cooking —interesting and decided I wanted to become a chef. As an ambitious 19-year-old, I naturally wanted to become more adventurous with my cooking and wanted to experiment beyond my parents’ traditional style of cooking and travel to discover more.”
Naturally, this caused a “big drama” within the family. Still, Sugisaki packed his bags and headed for the big smoke to see what London cuisine could serve him inspiration-wise. “I was shocked,” he exclaims. “The Japanese food scene in the UK was appalling — nothing compared to what it is today. People feared eating sashimi, which is fair enough as there was no supply of fresh fish to use. Japanese cuisine is straightforward; we like to push the ingredient, but if we don’t even have a tool to play with, there are only certain things you can do.”
Still a budding — and somewhat exasperated — young chef, Sugisaki turned his attention toward European cuisine, especially Italian and French. “It was an awakening moment for me,” he says. “I became interested in a style of cuisine that was a fusion of European and Japanese cooking; that paid respect to a high standard of Japanese cuisine but also presented Japanese food in a way that the European customer was familiar with — like what they were doing over at Nobu.”
Sugisaki then returned to Japan armed with ladles full of ideas, but as he had to fulfil his destiny of taking over the family business and being a dutiful son, they were muted. “I took the business over for half of a decade, and during these years, I tried to remake my version of Nobu-style food, but no one liked it,” he says.
“Take garlic,” suggests Sugisaki when explaining the key differences between the two cuisines, “in Japanese cooking, we barely use it as it’s too aggressive. A typical dining experience also includes around 13-15 courses, and each course must reflect the tradition of the course. For example, you have a salty starter with acidity to increase the appetite, followed by sashimi. There are so many precise rules, which makes it deeply fascinating but, at times, restrictive. European cuisine, on the other hand, is a lot more straightforward. There’s much more of a ‘WOW factor’ and a chance for the chef to show his creativity through his food.”
Longing for a chance to experiment with fusion cooking, Sugisaki became frustrated that his vision was being rejected by the customer. He decided to sell the restaurant so that his parents had enough money to buy and run a small bed & breakfast in the countryside. Fortuitously, they had just opened a new Nobu and Sugisaki lept at the opportunity.
“I spent three years in the sushi bar at Nobu Berkley Street, and the kitchen culture couldn’t be more different,” he says. “A Japanese kitchen runs itself like an army division; you need to respect your seniors, there is a clear hierarchy, and it is very strict. At Nobu, the chefs were more flexible and respectful of one another. I finally had the chance to have the freedom to experiment and be creative.”
Sugisaki was then approached by one of the opening members of Nobu, Tomonari Chiba. He had the vision to open a restaurant business called Dinings which would specialise in an Izakaya style of cooking, combining Japanese and European cuisines to create contemporary small plates. He lured Sugisaki with the proposition that he could finally work for himself, and have complete creative direction over the menu. Chiba reeled him in, hook, line and sinker.
“Chiba came up to me after a fortnight and said that Dinings was a small restaurant, so there was no need for two brains — it was now all up to me,” Sugisaki recalls, “It was a lot of pressure, but luckily I knew the concept: simple food, working with seasonality and fresh produce. I slowly started building a contact base with Cornish fishermen, and whatever they could catch, I would use and then play with what they caught.”
When recalling some of his signature dishes during his time at Dinings SW3, he monologues about discovering this tiny lobster from Cornwall. The lobster, which was for a long time abandoned as it was overcaught years ago, has now grown in scope and size and is mainly exported to France. Sugisaki ventured down to Cornwall and climbed aboard the fishing boat to see the crustacean and to show the fishermen first-hand how they kill fish in Japan to maintain the fresh quality. He needed the lobster there and then and bid to pay more than the French were paying — a taster of the lengths the chef will go to find a prime product.
“I got so many fantastic dishes from that lobster,” says Sugisaki. “From simple grilled lobster with confit garlic and butter, sometimes sashimi, lobster miso, and then stock from the shells to make an udon noodle. It was fusion cooking at its best.”
To pay respect to both Japanese tradition and European cuisine through Dinings SW3, Sugisaki has a process: “The dish needs to be based on Japanese philosophy, and then I translate it into European cuisine with French or Italian ideas. For example, I would call thinly sliced sashimi “carpaccio” instead of “usuzurkuri.” It is essential for me that when the customer reads the menu, they understand what they are ordering.”
Nestled in a mews off Walton Street in well-heeled Knightsbridge, the menu at Dinings SW3 reflects a unique style of sushi and sashimi that ebbs with the seasons, using only the freshest seafood from these Cornish day boats. Current dishes on the menu include: potted native blue lobster with Taramo sauce, Seared Wagyu beef with chilli miso, Dover sole carpaccio, blue lobster slider burger with yuzu aioli and pickled shallot to black cod with amazake soy, roasted cauliflower, and tahini miso to yuzu cheesecake with blood orange, ginger and hazelnut crumble.
Also at the core of Dinings SW3 is a philosophy of Omotenashi — which is the foundation of Japanese hospitality. The literal meaning translates into “how many people can you fit in arms” — which is typically five. “It means to look after people to the best of your abilities,” explains Sugisaki. “For example, you need to check if a person is right or left-handed, evaluate how well they use chopsticks so you can amend the pressure on the sushi rice, and you need to top up the sake at the right time and so on. If you are asked to top up the wine, you’ve failed.”
For his last ever supper, Masaki Sugisaki indulges in a typical Japanese breakfast which includes several dishes; an array of freshly cooked steamed rice, miso soup, pickled vegetables, sweet Japanese omelettes, grilled salt-cured fish and fermented soya bean, crispy nori sheets, and raw egg yolk. To drink, green tea.
“When people come to Dinings SW3, I want them to first and foremost have an enjoyable time with friends and family,” concludes Sugisaki. “From the beginning to the end, I want them to have fun.”
Masaki Sugisaki’s recipe for Line-caught sea bass yuzu ceviche
Ingredients
100g Cured Sea bass (cut into 1.5cm cubes) (A)
10g Amazu Pickled shallot (B)
10g Fresh shallot
30g Cured cherry tomato (red and yellow) (C)
5g Organic char caviar
20g Yuzu ceviche vinaigrette (D)
5g Chive oil (E)
For garnish & Seasoning (to taste)
Coriander cress
Pink peppercorn
Red meat radish discs
Method
(A) Cured Sea bass
Cut sea bass into 1.5cm cubes.
Cure sea bass with 2% of yuzu kosho in vacuum bag for 2 hours.
(B) Amazu pickled shallot
Slice the shallot into 2mm ring by using a mandoline slicer.
Prepare pickling liquid. Mix 50 grams Rice vinegar, 15 grams sugar and 1 gram Kombu in a bowl and mix well. Let them sit for 2hours to infuse kombu.
Pickle shallot ring overnight.
(C) Cured tomato
Burn tomato by using blow torch and peel skin.
Cure them with 2% salt and 1% sugar.
(D)Yuzu ceviche vinaigrette
Mix 90 grams unsalted yuzu juice, 30 grams Extra virgin olive oil, 30 grams grapeseed oil, 25grams Aji Amarillo, 5grams garlic, 5grams Maldon Sea salt, 1 gram Honey, 1gram yuzu kosho and 1gram pink peppercorns in blender and blend well.
(E) Chive oil
Boil 50grams chives in salted boiling water. Once boiled, chill them in iced water and squeeze excess water well.
Cut boiled chive into small pieces and place it in blender with 100grams Grapeseed oil.
Blend well.
Pass though muslin cloth