Cabernet

Not sure how to avoid sounding like a PR for Auberge - sharing information on a great chef from Tokyo who is uniquely working in the Pays Basque for a week, is definetely worth mentioning methinks. As for not providing sufficient info - I plead guilty, however, you have only to reread my post and you will join up the dots quite easily! The Aronia de Takaza website does indeed show Yoshi's creations and he is definitely not a molecular gastronomist!! Simply look into Kyoto dining for example - see Peter Gordon's recent piece in last week's FT. If this wonderful opportunity is available on our European doorsteps (i.e. Biarritz airport is but a short Ryanair/Easyjet flight away from the UK for example), surely it merits mentioning without the suggestion of 'advertising'? I hope the eGullet members will try the great Takazawa cuisine and make their own minds up!

Only for great food and original thought!!

For those eGullet members who might be travelling through France and Spain this winter, I detail a unique dining opportunity that might be of special interest, I must stress that I am not commercially involved with the restaurant concerned l'Auberge Basque' and merely wish to share news of the marvellous opportunity with fellow food lovers. From the Nose Blog of A Good Nose.Com: The world's most enigmatic chef will be visiting Europe during late November and early December this year. Yoshiaki Takazawa is a culinary phenomenon: his cult Tokyo restaurant Aronia de Takazawa has only two tables, and three to six month advance booking is de rigeur... his food is original, intelligent and offers a unique vision of culinary creativity - he is an inspiring, exciting and dynamic Japanese chef. A Unique Dining Opportunity After making a presentation at the renowned LMG Chef Congress in San Sebastian, northern Spain (from 24th - 27th November), Yoshi and his charming wife Akiko, will remain in the Basque country, crossing the frontier from Spain into France and for just four days he will appear as celebrity guest chef in Cédric Béchade's temple like kitchens at l'Auberge Basque, near St Jean de Luz. For European food lovers and gourmets, this is wonderful news. Rather than flying all the way to Tokyo, it will be possible to enjoy a splendid set lunch or dinner prepared jointly by Yoshi Takazawa and Cédric Béchade in the South-West of France. Dates for 'Yoshi Takazawa at l'Auberge Basque' are: 4th, 5th 6th and 7th December 2008 - at the democratic price of €85.00 plus wine, advance booking will be essential! David Eley Weblinks: www.agoodnose.com www.aubergebasque.com www.aroniadetakazawa.com

g I would suggest that Takazawa is an extremely good chef and that Mr Rudd's original Sunday Times article is accurate. Cedric Béchade, long time talented protégé of Alain Ducasse at the Plaza Athenée and the truly outstanding chef proprietor of l'Auberge Basque near St Jean de Luz (recently nominated 'Discovery of 2008' by Gault Millau) has just returned from cooking in Tokyo. With great enthusiasm he explained that his dinner at Ariona de Takazawa was "one of the two greatest meals of my life", the second being at Marc Veyrat. This extraordinary praise comes from a young dynamic chef whose experience encompasses so much, from Peter Goossens in Belgium to Pierre Gagnaire in Paris. If Cedric says this man is truly great, I am inclined to believe him.