The Link Between Joël Robuchon And Louis Vuitton's Osaka Restaurant
If you're a fan of food, then you've likely heard of the "chef of the century," aka Joël Robuchon. His cuisine highlighted simplicity and the true essence of ingredients rather than masking them behind showy techniques, as explained by Smithsonian Magazine. Visually speaking, many of his dishes also utilized black or white plates, dots of sauce, and striking colors, as seen on the gallery of his official website. His creative imagination, paired with his respect for ingredients, is likely why so many chefs trained under him, including Gordon Ramsay and Eric Ripert, as noted by the Michelin Guide.
Though he has since passed, his wide range of restaurants collectively has 29 Michelin Stars, per his official website. Somehow, he and his team have managed to make each restaurant unique, and there sure are a lot of them, currently spanning nine countries with more awaited openings in Qatar, Israel, Monaco, and Morocco.
One country that hasn't been graced with one of Robuchon's restaurants (yet) is Japan. That being said, there is a restaurant in Osaka with Louis Vuitton's name behind it, and there's actually an interesting correlation between this restaurant and Robuchon. Here's what that is.
Who is the chef?
Technically, Louis Vuitton has a restaurant and a café to his name, and both seem to be situated next to each other (via W Magazine). Though it's not clear what the restaurant Sugalabo V will offer, its café cousin, Le Café V, is said to showcase a variety of expensive mineral waters, wagyu beef, salads, and cakes. Consider yourself lucky if you're able to dine at these places, as Sugalabo V and, likely, Le Café V, are tough to get into, per Byzance.
The mastermind behind the restaurant and café is a chef named Yosuke Suga, who worked under Joël Robuchon, as mentioned by Hype Beast. The Michelin Guide interview with the chef goes into more depth with this, explaining that Suga started out as a personal assistant to Robuchon, traveling the world and eventually becoming an executive chef, then a restaurant consultant, for the Joel Robuchon Group. In total, this partnership lasted for about 16 years.
When asked about his time with Robuchon, Suga only had good things to say. He mentioned to The Michelin Guide that Robuchon cared about every aspect of the restaurant, ranging from the guests and the food to the business side of it. He also had a strong work ethic and was beloved by many people around the world.
If Robuchon were alive today, we're sure he'd be proud of Suga, as he seems to have taken all that he's learned from working with Robuchon and applied it to Le Café V and Sugalabo V.