25-12-2017
Third from the left, front line, Michele Biassoni, chef at Iyo in Milan, with the team from Ryugin in Tokyo, 3 Michelin stars, where he attended a 3-month internship, from August to November 2017. Chef Seiji Yamamoto is standing beside him
I heard excellent things about Ryugin from Hiroshi Noda, a colleague at Iyo in Milan. He praised the fantastic raw materials and techniques, 100% Japanese. A restaurant ahead of its times, where I was dreaming of acquiring experience so as to get a better understanding of the mentality of that country’s cuisine. I applied online in February. The reply arrived soon: they welcomed me with pleasure, I would not get paid but they offered food and accommodation, a luxury given how expensive the city is. I was very happy but there was a but: I asked to go in August, when Iyo is closed; they only accepted interns for three months. I went to my patron Claudio Liu and he didn’t hesitate: «If I weren’t capable of finding a substitute for three months, I wouldn’t be capable of doing my job. Go!».
I left on the 7th August, landed and settled in a flat above the restaurant, in Roppongi [in the summer of 2018 the restaurant will move to Hibiya]. I shared my experience with other interns from all around the world: Hong Kong, Israel, Canada, England. First service, 10th August, from noon to one in the morning – the restaurant is only open in the evening. I’m one of the 3 interns in the team. At Ryugin there’s a new intern every month and a half and the predecessor must always help the new arrival. I speak good French and decent English. But they speak almost only in Japanese there. Shoyu, ichimi, uni, amaebi, unagi. I learnt a few words at Iyo and this helped.
Biassoni with Seiji Yamamoto, chef at Ryugin, born in 1970
They put you to the test: if your hand skills are not good enough, if you don’t do something perfectly, they won’t let you do the same thing again. If you do it properly, you gradually gain respect, even though it’s a lengthy process. In Italy, if you show you can make it, it’s a short step to the stoves. Not in Japan, you have to go a long way before you can test yourself with cooking …
The kitchen at Ryugin is divided into four stations plus pastry making: starters, robatayaki grill, hot courses and sashimi. They immediately assign me the latter, and then moved me to the robatayaki so as to train the following intern. It’s an honour because raw fish is the most important station for me: it’s been run for a decade by Seiji Yamamoto’s sous chef.
The medal Biassoni got at the end of the internship: «You only get it if you were really good»
Michele Biassoni, 30 yo, at Iyo's pass
Men who, for a moment, leave pots and pans to tell us their experience and point of view
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Born in Monza in 1987, he first worked at Vino in Paris with Enrico Bernardo, then at Palazzo Parigi with Carlo Cracco. In 2015 moved to Iyo in Milan. Since April 2017 he’s the chef at Claudio Liu’s restaurant, one Michelin star
From Western concert flute to cakes