Originally from Japan, chef and entrepreneur Yoji Tokuyoshi has taken Milan’s culinary scene by storm since moving here almost 20 years ago. His epiphany? Turning his Italian restaurant that used Japanese techniques into a Japanese one obsessed with Italian ingredients. As the founder of Alter Ego Italian restaurant in Tokyo, Tokuyoshi also has an appetite for side projects, many of which he runs with French-Japanese partner Alice Yamada. Quick to smile, Tokuyoshi speaks to Monocle from a low window table at his Bentoteca restaurant about inspiration, his cappuccino regime and why he’s eyeing New York, London and Paris for his next venture. 

What made you leave Japan for Italy?
To learn Italian cooking, I obviously had to learn the original. I worked in an Italian restaurant in Tokyo for six years but I had no idea whether the food I was making was authentic or not. I moved to Italy and spent a decade working for Massimo Bottura at Osteria Francescana in Modena. My intention was to spend three or four years there and then return to Japan to become a star. That’s what a lot of Japanese chefs do. But four years turned into five, then six, then seven. I was growing and I wanted to see how far I could go. Once we [Osteria Francescana] got our third Michelin star, I said, “OK, now I want to forge my own path.”

Was the idea always to come to Milan?
I wanted to open my own restaurant but I didn’t have a clear idea. So I spent three months travelling in Italy. I discovered a beautiful thing: the morning routine of having a cappuccino. It’s something that I couldn’t do when I worked at Osteria Francescana because I would wake up and go to work immediately. During my travels I would get up at 10.00 and buy a coffee. I’d always see people at the café, smiling. Che bello. 

And so, you opened an Italian restaurant?
Yes, Italian food but cooked using Japanese techniques. The restaurant was called Tokoyushi. We received a Michelin star in the first year of opening. During the coronavirus pandemic, we changed the idea and started to make Japanese food. It began as a take-away service and then, when we reopened, we kept to authentic, simple Japanese food. It has evolved a bit since then. What we do is a mixture because we use Italian ingredients: butter from the mountains, capers from the island of Pantelleria and Sicilian tomatoes.

Why did you give up your Michelin star?
My original decision was to keep going. I wanted one star, two stars, three stars. I really had to digest that decision. The first Japanese person in Italy to receive three stars sounds good, doesn’t it? I decided that I could always go down that route in future but it was better not to take the risk. It’s not about being number one in everything; I want a place where we do things that no one else can do. 

How does travelling inspire what you do?
Massimo Bottura taught me that when you return from travelling you have to reflect on what you have done. I catalogue everything and use it to add to my experience and help me come up with new dishes. If I’m looking at a work by Argentine-Italian artist and sculptor Lucio Fontana, I ask myself, “What was the thought behind it? What did he want to say?” 

You’ve shaken up Milanese dining and you have an Italian restaurant in Japan. Where else would you like to open?
What food do Americans like? Either Italian or Japanese. So, if I mix both, I think that New York is a good option. We opened a Katsusanderia pop-up in the Financial District last December and we’re now working on a Bentoteca pop-up for May. I’m also looking at opportunities in Paris and London.