The cuisine at Esquisse offers a window into Japan that foreign guests may not experience with Japanese cuisine. This progressive, elegant cuisine is peerless, with roots in French techniques and traditions, but featuring Japanese produce and methods. Aromas carried on the mistral—the Mediterranean breeze—are the foundation of Chef Beccat’s cooking. Characterized by citrus, spices, and herbal accents, the cuisine at Esquisse is simple, delicate, and poetic. Even the menu reads like a poem soothing guests before they take their first bite. Each dish, prepared and plated by human hands, appears as a snapshot of nature, driven not by movement but rather by quietude, with a rich expression of the vitality of the produce.

An Esquisse course begins with a glass of champagne before journeying through seven dishes, cheese, bread, mineral water, pre-dessert, dessert, coffee and sweets, and a souvenir to take home. The cuisine typically changes monthly, but some dishes only stay on the menu for two weeks, depending on the availability of ingredients. Beccat takes inspiration from his travels, artwork, history, daily living, and more. He describes his sense of place or terroir as three-fold: Japan, France, and self. His work is a constant exploration of the three. It is a challenge for guests to cover the breadth and depth of Japan in their travels, but Beccat hopes a visit to Ginza for his cuisine instills a sense of regions they are yet to discover.

Sansai wild mountain vegetables are unique to Japan and feature in a dish heralding spring that is dear to many guests. The gentle notes of bitterness come from bamboo shoots and sansai, like butterbur shoots, served alongside pig’s feet and a sauce poured at the table. For 12 years, Beccat never used sansai in his cooking, but he ate them every year and committed the flavors to his food memory file. As he takes an active, not passive, approach to cooking, he lets the produce speak to his senses and gently ruminates on dish ideas. He places great importance on accentuating an ingredient’s voice, and after a great deal of introspection, he now feels that sansai are to the Japanese what mushrooms are to the French.

An entirely white plate of food accented by white elderflowers features squid, turnip and kinome Japanese pepper tree buds. A puree resides beneath an ephemeral foam. The total absence of color allows guests to experience an exciting array of textures. The WONDERS OF NOTO dish is like an artist’s canvas, painted with an array of incredible wild and farmed vegetables from the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture.

Exquisitely cooked kinmedai splendid alfonsino fish demonstrates the chef’s meticulous calculations as he cooks, served with a trio of carrot preparations. The pigeon is, at once, delicate and impactful, with gentle flavors that leave a deep impression. It appears on the Esquisse menu as the seasons shift, just before summer and winter, always with a unique touch that expresses that specific moment. Marinated in masala and roasted to perfection with fennel, coriander and spice aromas, it was recently served with Satonishiki Japanese cherries. The desserts, reminiscent of jewels and bouquets, are almost too beautiful to devour. They feature stunning and elaborate combinations of berries, cream and elderflower.

INGREDIENTS
Esquisse’s cuisine features an enormous array of ingredients supplied by dear producer friends from the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture. The pigeon, however, is flown in from France’s Racan – a personal favorite of the chef. Beccat is an expert on Japanese regions and their specialty ingredients, sourcing bamboo shoots from Kyoto and citrus from Ehime and Wakayama. Winter fish stocks come from Kanazawa and Hokkaido. Beccat firmly believes the produce is the star, not the chef, expounding on his philosophy that once a dish is placed on the table, it belongs to the guest.