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Exceptional cuisine that is worth a special journey
C’est magnifique! Le Grande Maison Tokyo IMHO is indeed grand and fully deserving of 3 Michelin stars for the wonderful French cuisine featured and also a 10/10 rating for the entire production served.Obana Natsuki is a French cuisine master chef who had always been obsessed with attaining the holy grail of his craft - the 3 stars awarded by the prestigious Michelin Guide. Unfortunately his quest for the ultimate crowning glory is bitterly cut short due to a disastrous diplomatic incident that not only upends his promising career as a celebrated chef de cuisine but also reduces him to a vilified persona non grata of both France and Japan. Fast forward 3 years later, he crosses paths with the vibrant Hayami Rinko, a talented French cuisine chef herself, who rekindles his passion for cooking and reignites his hopes of achieving the ultimate Michelin guide rating once more.
Grand Maison Tokyo is a TBS production that is directed by established directors Ayuko Tsukahara (Saiai, MIU 404), Daisuke Yamamuro (Tenno no Ryoriban, Ouroboros, Jin 1 & 2), and Takahiro Aoyama (Tengoku to Jigoku: Psychona Futari). Based on the original screenplay by one of my favourite Japanese screenwriters, Tsutomu Kuroiwa (Tokyo MER: Hashiru Kinkyuukyuumeishitsu, Unsung Cinderella: Byoin Yakuzaishi no Shohosen) with music score composed by Hideakira Kimura and the theme song RECIPE performed by Tatsuro Yamashita.
A collaboration with the international fashion magazine, Marie Claire, in which the fictional “Marie Claire dining” segment is mentioned throughout. Principal photography took place primarily in Tokyo and Paris. The 3-star restaurant L'ambroisie in Paris and the Japanese French cuisine restaurant, Quintessence (depicted as Gaku in the drama) are featured extensively. Incidentally the Japanese restaurant was awarded the prestigious 3-star rating upon completion of the drama’s airing in 2020. The dishes served by Grand Maison Tokyo were prepared by the 2-star INUA restaurant based in Tokyo, while the supervision for dessert preparation is provided by Hotel Intercontinental Tokyo Bay, which was also used as a filming location for the buffet restaurant in the drama.
The drama won 5 awards at the 103rd Television Drama Academy Awards, namely for Best Picture, Best Actor (Takuya Kimura), Best Supporting Actor (Yuta Tamamori), Best Drama Song (Tatsuro Yamashita, RECIPE), and Best Director.
What I Loved
Everything, really. I was hooked from beginning till the end. This drama has the perfect blend of all the right ingredients to produce an outstanding production with more than sufficient action, thrills, suspense and poignant moments which I have thoroughly enjoyed every minute of.
The premise of the drama is straightforward but the storytelling navigates an intriguing trajectory teeming with layers of sub-plots as well as twists and turns that seemingly never runs out of steam or ideas on how to move the story forward. And moving forward it does at nearly the speed of light with so much agency and urgency during the 11 episodes of its run. The viewing experience itself feels very much like a full course fine dining adventure. A compelling narrative that continuously grabs hold of the viewers’ attention while introducing a concept mostly unfamiliar to the uninitiated - the Michelin guide to the world of French cuisine - amidst the multitude of vividly intriguing character designs that permeate this production. One of the things I love about the characterization in this drama is that none of the so-called antagonists is an outright villain - they are simply morally grey characters with their own motivations and beliefs system operating in the highly competitive and unforgiving hospitality industry.
The technical proficiency of this drama shines through, as evidenced by the high production values and top quality execution. This is particularly true for aspects concerning production and set designs, food videography element of the cinematography, the realism of the content depiction pertaining to kitchen administration, food preparation, cooking techniques and restaurant management. Even linguistics hold prominence here with French being convincingly spoken in the drama by various characters. Likewise the music of this production induces the required atmospherics of the storytelling with an infusion of tasteful classical elements that matches perfectly the cuisine that is presented.
The main selling point of Grand Maison Tokyo, undoubtedly for me, is Kimura Takuya. The character-driven narrative suits this man’s profound ability beautifully and so it proves with his award-winning performance here. Kimutaku isn’t just portraying Obana Natsuki - He IS Obana Natsuki! The depth of the characterization complements the extensive range of the actor producing a masterclass in acting, of which I’ve had the privilege to witness…no, to experience, in this drama.
In Suzuki Kyoka, viewers have the pleasure of seeing a veteran actress that matches the excellence of Kimutaku to enhance the flavours of this drama even further. Having seen her in Okaeri Mone, she exudes similar vibes but there is a wider scope to her portrayal of the co-lead Hayami Rinko here. Her characters have a way of building an emotional connection with viewers and I find myself developing this connection from the very first minute of her appearance. What an inspiring and moving performance from this lady indeed.
Tamamori Yuta’s take on Hirako Shohei catches the eye due to the complexity of the characterization where he is allocated quite a significant portion of screen time. It’s worth mentioning that he is the central character in the spin-off drama, Gura Gura Maison Tokyo. I’m also intrigued by the performance of Onoe Kikunosuke V who plays Tango Manabu, the chef of the rival Gaku restaurant. Tominaga Ai as the editor-in-chief of Marie Claire dining, Linda Machiko Richard, dazzles the screen every time she appears.
Final Thoughts
The highest rating awarded by the Michelin guide is 3 stars, which means exceptional cuisine that is worth a special journey. All things considered, watching Grand Maison Tokyo has been an extremely worthwhile experience personally and represents a special journey in and of itself. For that reason, I’m giving it the highest MDL rating that I believe it deserves. This drama is absolutely “Subarashii”!
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The OST was a plus, it was very catchy.
I really hope it is longer! I'm gonna miss the all the staff at Grand Maison Tokyo!
Longer review available here: https://elijahmaliksmom.wordpress.com/2020/01/07/grand-maison-tokyo/
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Delectable dishes appear one after another. The making of each dish is deconstructed from basic ingredients to every cooking idea which turns the dish into an absolute delicacy. A good cooking Jdrama is not rare; one is reminded of 'Dinner' which similarly centers around French cooking. The difference is this drama has a more specific theme where the chef is trying to Japanize French cooking . He wants to maintain the complexity of flavor of French cooking by utilizing simple Japanese ingredients and his culinary skills rather than depending on expensive imported ingredients.
The personalities of the characters also shines through the drama. Themes of friendship, aspiration, loyalty, jealousy, courage and redemption are explored making this cooking show a very human affair.
One can easily lose oneself in this world of visually stunning dishes, the life cycle of a recipe from its inception to its completion and the clash between the various personalities in this drama. A must -watch for anyone interested in cooking genre.
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The Quest for the Ultimate Stars Rating
We follow the adventures of the arrogant but extremely talented Obana Natsuki, an influential French Cuisine head chef obsessed with obtaining a three Michelin stars award. He has been trying to accomplish this for all of his career and has managed to get granted an award of two with his French restaurant Escofille, when suddenly, three years before the events portrayed in the show, a disastrous diplomatic incident during an important lunch at his restaurant destroys his career. Due to this, it’s now impossible for him to get employed in any eatery, as he’s now dubbed the "Shame of Japan”. At the beginning of the show, however, while trying to get employed at a renowned restaurant in Paris, he meets Hayami Rinko (played by Suzuki Kyoka https://mydramalist.com/people/2025-suzuki-kyoka), a talented and vibrant French cuisine chef who is trying to get employed there as well, in order to achieve the three stars rating, but is having a hard time due to her limited prior experience. Sadly, they are both discarded by the owner of the French restaurant. With nowhere else to go, Obana decides to help Hayami in her quest for the ultimate stars rating, by opening a restaurant in Japan with her. They will have to find a way to hire Obana’s previous co-workers at Escofille, who are now working for different venues in Japan, or there will be no hope of success. Due to his incredibly negative fame, though, it won’t be easy.[...]
What, in my opinion, particularly shines in this show is how the various characters are portrayed. Firstly, even though they are all supposed to be famous chefs, they are written in a way where you can easily sympathize with them and understand their reasoning and emotions even if you know almost nothing about high-class cuisine. For example, Obana starts as an arrogant character, who does whatever he wants and ignores how others are feeling, thinking nothing can beat his cooking, but as the show goes on, you can understand that this is just a facade, and in reality, he does care about people, he just doesn’t show it well. He will also realize that if he wants to be awarded three stars, he has to adapt and change. We can all imagine that it can be quite hard to change your way of thinking if you are already a renowned chef.
Read the rest at https://blisscast.wordpress.com/2022/11/24/my-journal-page-27-24-november-2022-exceptional-cuisine-that-is-worth-a-special-journey-grand-maison-tokyo/
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Each episode made me hungry!
This one was so delicious!I love eating and cooking but i usually don't watch food related Dramas.
Iam always open to new genres but now iam thinking about it, seems most of the time i play safe and stay in my comfort zone.
Silly me!
As always the main reason to start this was Kimura- Sama.My love for him grows drama by drama.
Exceptional acting from everyone.As for Mr Kimura if you don't know he is an actor you can easily mistaken him for a top chef who is just participating in the show!
An arrogant and cocky but so talented chef,with a troubled past..A very well writen character with a great character development episode by episode.As a whole the drama is well written too.Tells a story,give us the background of the main chars and we can easily follow up with the plot.
At first i thought everything is about Obana and i was excited to watch a drama focused mostly on Kimura so i could have more and more of him.
But It is not a character centered drama.Is a team centered one and i loved the dynamic of this team,their bonds and the trust they built..And i have enjoyed it more this way.
Culinary World is fancy outside and cruel inside.I think is one of the most competitive occupations.The antagonism and the jealously among high ranked chefs it is shown here in a very realistic way.
And although 90% is inside a kitchen, cooking,i never felt bored.Sometimes also i had the feeling i was watching a reality show like Master Chef.Everything felt real,believable and natural.
I have no idea if any of the actors can actually cook in real life but i woulnd't hesitate to taste their cooking,lol!
If you are a food drama lover you will definitely enjoy this.If not,still you will have fun with the story,the characters and great acting is always appreciated.
They were aiming for 3 Stars.I gave them 9!
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