Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on July 2010 Australia’s hottest chef arrives in Japan for a weeklong stint at The Westin Tokyo hotel (www.westin-tokyo.co.jp). Mark Best was hailed as Chef of the Year by the Sydney Morning Herald, and his Marque eatery was named Breakthrough Restaurant of 2010 by the prestigious San Pellegrino World’s Top 100 […]
Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on July 2010
Photos courtesy of the Westin Tokyo
Australia’s hottest chef arrives in Japan for a weeklong stint at The Westin Tokyo hotel (www.westin-tokyo.co.jp). Mark Best was hailed as Chef of the Year by the Sydney Morning Herald, and his Marque eatery was named Breakthrough Restaurant of 2010 by the prestigious San Pellegrino World’s Top 100 Restaurants. Not bad for a man who didn’t start cooking until age 25, and who previously worked as an electrician in the gold mines of Western Australia. “The cuisine of Marque is defined by its limitations,” Best says. “We have a very small team and a very small kitchen. This has created and informs the aesthetic. There is nothing superfluous on the plate and everything must have a reason to exist.” Diners in Tokyo can expect such intriguing nouveau French fare as figs and goat curd with milk vacherin, octopus “Nicoise” (left) and beetroot macaroons. Best will set up shop at The Westin Tokyo’s Victor restaurant August 1-7, offering course meals at lunch (¥7,000 to ¥12,000) and dinner (¥9,000 to ¥15,000); a gala feast on the 7th will pair a six-course degustation menu with wines from New South Wales (¥18,500). “I want the ingredients to shine and not be overshadowed by technical gimmicks,” he says. “It is about the ingredients and the dish, not my ego.”
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