A tast of what's to come

It has now been twenty-five years since chef Kunihisa Goto left Japan and settled in France.

Having worked alongside Jacques Decoret in Vichy, Philippe Etchebest at Hostellerie de Plaisance, and Anthony Valette at Le Pouilly, the Fontainebleau-based chef has now led L’Axel Restaurant for fourteen years.

There, he cultivates an approach to hospitality that exists somewhere between Japanese sensibility and French art de vivre.

Japanese-born chef Kunihisa Goto, at the helm of Michelin-starred L’Axel Restaurant in Fontainebleau, draws from both his French and Japanese cultures to shape his vision of hospitality.

Bienvenue chez Kunihisa Goto !

Kunihisa Goto - Japanese Michelin-starred chef

Behind L’Axel’s elegant façade, the wood-panelled dining room is lined with impeccably dressed tables. Each one is adorned with a soliflore vase, a porcelain candle holder, and always one or several seasonal fruits or vegetables. In autumn, squash finds its place on the table. These days, it is yuzu — the fragrant Japanese citrus fruit — which the chef imports directly from his native archipelago.

Beyond table decoration itself, Kunihisa Goto likes to conceive his dishes as compositions.

“To truly enhance a dish, you have to think carefully about the plate it will be served on,” he explains.

Colour, shape, scale — every detail matters to him. He even admits that his tableware often inspires the dishes themselves, reversing the more traditional creative process. Guided by one of his enduring principles:

“Before tasting with the palate, we eat with the eyes.”

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What does French hospitality mean to you?

“Every country has its own way of welcoming guests. In Japan, where I come from, hospitality is culturally very minimal. You can feel it in both the décor and the table setting. Even in fine dining restaurants, tables are usually very stripped back.

No tablecloths, no cutlery, no flowers — only the essentials: a plate, a napkin and chopsticks.

In France, on the other hand, tables in fine restaurants tend to feel more layered, often dressed with linens and decorative details.”

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How would you describe the identity of L’Axel Restaurant?

“At L’Axel Restaurant, we wanted to create a balance between the two. It is first and foremost a French gastronomic restaurant, which can be felt in the atmosphere and in its rather classical style. But we also wanted to introduce subtle references to my Japanese roots.

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For instance, we recently began presenting the napkins rolled and placed diagonally across the plate, in a slightly Japanese-inspired way. On each table, there is also a small golden ginkgo leaf — a tree deeply associated with Japan — which we use to indicate that the aperitif order has been taken.

Decorative, yet functional.”

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What is the finest compliment a guest could give you?

“That the welcome felt warm.”

“There is nothing more important. And that warmth comes from countless details — the lighting, the table setting, the dining room décor and, of course, the quality of service.”

For Kunihisa Goto, creating a truly warm experience for guests relies on the careful attention paid to every detail of the table and the space around it — reflecting the generosity and thoughtfulness that define great hospitality.

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