Paris, Hokkaido: Tomoyuki Takao

The Paris, Tokyo special edition, Paris, Hokkaido, focuses on Tomoyuki Takao, the owner and chef of the Italian restaurant TAKAO in Sapporo, Hokkaido. After training at a French restaurant when he was in his twenties, Takao honed his skills at hotels and restaurants in Japan. In 2015, he turned his focus to Italian cuisine and opened his own restaurant, TAKAO.

Committed to using local ingredients, such as wild plants, nuts, and berries, which he forages for himself, as well as seafood that is caught at a nearby port, Takao is now attempting to establish a neo-Hokkaido cuisine by adopting the cooking methods of the Ainu, the indigenous people of Hokkaido. The Ainu, who’s lifestyle was based on hunting and gathering, created their own methods of fermenting and preserving ingredients in order to survive the harsh Hokkaido winters. In addition, the Ainu lived by the ethos of collecting only as much as was absolutely necessary, so that the same wild plants were still available for collection the following year. Takao incorporates these techniques and ideas into dishes in which you can experience the nature and culture of Hokkaido, from the first bite right up to the lingering afternotes.