Tokyo

CHIUnE

チウネ

An experience that prompts you to reconsider what it means to dine. Seemingly simple but stunningly presented dishes are steeped in emotion and the unique atmosphere of CHIUnE allows you to savor each moment and every bite. Called a rising star and a prodigy, a look at the chef’s pedigree goes some way to explaining his talent, but there is something very unique about his style that conveys both elegance and warmth.

CHIUnE came on the scene in December 2016 in Ginza Icchome, near the chef’s father’s restaurant Furuta. The signboard is so simple most are inclined to walk straight past it, but the copper sheen sends a clear message that while still young, this restaurant is clearly going places. Beyond the heavy door lies a quiet and stylish space that is minimalist to the extreme, mirroring the cuisine. The broad counter creates an exclusive space seating just six, which in the chef’s mind is the ideal number for serving cuisine at the highest possible level. Made from untreated timber native to Mino City, Gifu Prefecture, the counter offers the perfect proximity for the chef and his team. Amid lovely soft lighting your dishes are prepared right before your eyes.

As you sit it you’ll notice the silence: Chef Furuta is certain his cuisine needs no soundtrack. The all-encompassing aesthetic fills your senses, and your eyes especially will be delighted with the flowers and vase works by floral artist Shiho Yokokawa. Not known to many, the restaurant name CHIUnE actually refers to the terraced fields of Furuta’s native Gifu, which with stone walls leading to the top of the hill are said to encapsulate the saying “cultivate your way to heaven“. That beautiful landscape with water trickling from the upper terraces to below is very special to Chef Furuta, and it exemplifies the chef’s cuisine with its simultaneous elegance and warmth.

CUISINE

Savor each moment and every bite

The second son born into the Gifu-based nationally acclaimed Chinese dining establishment Kaikatei, Furuta’s cuisine includes playful re-creations of traditional cuisine from his native Gifu, thereby paying homage to his roots while bringing a totally new perspective. CHIUnE has been referred to as innovative fusion, but it is a push to fit it into any genre. Within the extremely simple style resides the chef’s truly unique sense and a consistent message across the whole dining experience from cuisine, space and tableware to sake and the people behind it all. Take your front-row seat and witness the creative genius of this rising star chef.

Furuta provides very little detail or explanation for his creative dishes, wanting instead for his customers to enjoy the journey of imagination and discovery of flavors. In his course of nine to ten dishes, he is devoted to maximizing the potential of every ingredient. With very little intervention, he describes his cuisine as the “art of subtraction“.

One of Furura’s signature dishes is rice noodles, taking on different colors and flavors each season. Incorporating shiitake, asparagus, swimming crab, snow crab, porcini mushrooms, and any number of other premium ingredients, anticipating the latest flavors is all part of the fun of each new visit to CHIUnE. A delectable autumn combination includes premium matsutake mushrooms with sudachi citrus. Served cold, as you place a bite in your mouth, the temperature rises and the rich aroma of matsutake opens up.

Beneath a gently-cooked shiitake mushroom and glistening egg yolk lies green pea purée, finished with a few drops of olive oil. The chef asks you to mix it all together to enjoy the luscious flavor combination. Slow-cooked over charcoals, succulent duck thigh sits atop an umami-rich sauce of nameko mushrooms and is finished with a reduction of duck juices with red vinegar and black pepper — a perfectly harmonious dish. Beautiful knife cuts accentuate the sweetness of tender squid topped with the delicious briny flavor of beluga caviar.

INGREDIENTS
Furuta uses only the very best each season has to offer, but beyond that reveals nothing on his suppliers or the ingredients’ origins. The only information we can glean is that he chooses everything himself and that he loves ingredients from his native Gifu, including log-grown shiitake and a variety of mushrooms, ayu sweet fish, edamame, loach fish and duck.

CHEF

Satoshi Furuta

Satoshi Furuta was born in Gifu Prefecture in 1984 to a father who is the founder of famed Chinese restaurant Kaikatei and owner of Ginza’s Restaurant Furuta. With an older brother the current head of Kaikatei, Furuta grew up surrounded by incredibly talented chefs. Unbeknownst to the young Satoshi, Kaikatei was one of Japan’s best-loved restaurants; he realizes now how unique it is to have a restaurant where customers can enjoy an 800 yen set meal alongside others partaking in an elaborate 50,000 yen course. And he knows just how lucky he was to taste an array of exquisite ingredients from such a young age.

Furuta remembers starting work in the kitchen around fourth grade washing dishes and helping with prep. He was so surrounded by chefs that it wasn’t until adulthood that he thought of it as a career. He recalls his father never said anything in the kitchen; his style was very much that you have to observe, analyse and learn for yourself. At the age of 19, Furuta ventured to Tokyo to train at Italian and French restaurants. He later returned to Gifu to open his own Restaurant Satoshi.F in 2009 but re-entered the Tokyo food scene in late 2016 with CHIUnE. Blessed with the highest-class chef DNA, accentuating Furuta’s talent is an incredibly polished sensibility that enables him to showcase his genius. Like his cuisine, Furuta keeps chitchat to a minimum, and he never entertains media, which just adds to the appeal of CHIUnE. His holidays are often spent exploring the food scenes of nearby Shanghai or far-off France and Spain with restaurant guests.

VISION
Time is still young, with the Ginza restaurant opening not even two years ago. Chef Furuta’s focus now is solely on CHIUnE, but he certainly has his sights on a New York restaurant or some other overseas development someday, perhaps adopting a new style or even venturing into production and consulting well within the realm of possibility.

WINE

Wine lovers will be wowed by the chef’s collection of up to 800 bottles resting in an underground cellar, including Chateau Latour from 1961 and 2007 Gevrey Chambertin – both exquisite wines from exceptional vintages. Not to be missed is the chef’s pairing course. Excited anticipation for each new dish grows further as you imagine which wine might accompany it. The drinks line-up is not limited to wine, also including a wonderful selection of sake and Chinese teas.