At Mosuke, Mory Sacko (Top Chef 2020) brilliantly combines African and Japanese inspiration

Mory Sacko, one of the emblematic candidates in the 2020 season of Top Chef, has just opened his first restaurant in Paris. Named Mosuke, this new gourmet spot blends African, Japanese and French cuisine.

Mory Sacko, a key candidate in the 11th season of Top Chef, has just taken the plunge and opened his first restaurant, MoSuke, in the 14th arrondissement of Paris. The chef, who left his position as sous-chef at Thierry Marx's Mandarin Oriental and has been thinking about this project for a long time, considers his participation in Top Chef to have been a real"gas pedal".

Mory Sacko is a gourmet restaurant that honors local French products, and works with them according to two inspirations: African cuisine, which stems from his Malian roots, and Japanese cuisine, which he is particularly fond of.

Mory Sacko wanted to create"something new, not identifiable elsewhere", and by creating such a score between these three culinary inspirations, we can say that he has succeeded in his challenge!

From African gastronomy, the young chef retains in particular the spices (and not only the pepper!), but also the long cooking times. From Japanese cuisine, he has taken refinement and delicacy. And while each dish on Mosuke 's menu doesn't necessarily feature all three influences, Mory Sacko' s main aim is to offer a coherent menu.

So, let's take a look at what we enjoyed during our visit to Mosuke? As amuse-bouches and first steps into the original world of Mory Sacko, we're brought an enchanting trio: a perfect egg in a dashi and selim pepper broth, a spoonful of shiitake mushrooms, honey and plaintain banana powder, and a sweet potato Pont-Neuf fry with spicy ketchup and sansho mayo. A good start.

Next up, a starter we loved: mango-infused tofu with Yuzukoshō accompanied by a slice of flame-roasted mango; then sticky rice dressed with avocado creaminess on the inside, and on the outside a roasted avocado with okra and caviar, beurre blanc and avocado oil. Two very different starters that complement each other well: one with a nice smoky taste, the other as creamy as can be.

Hot to trot! Next up on our table is half a Breton blue lobster, cooked with a Japanese flame. As a result, the flesh is meltingly soft on the inside, crispy on the outside. The beautiful crustacean is accompanied by lacto-fermented vegetarian chili - a technique that removes the spiciness but not the taste! -tomato miso and smoked bisque.

We stay with seafood with sole cooked in a banana leaf. Quite original, isn't it? To accompany it, a purée of lovage and tagetes and attiéké, the famous cassava semolina.

Mory Sacko then unveils his"Chicken Yassa 2.0". The chicken supreme is cooked at low temperature and the skin roasted at the last minute. Large Roscoff onions cooked in butter charm us and we dip the whole in a red onion-rice and mustard seed condiment.

The boneless leg, reconstituted and fried in a Japanese tempura batter, is presented on a separate plate, with a black garlic-black lemon condiment.

A frosted spoonful of rhubarb, granny apple and penja pepper to cleanse the palate, and we're off to the desserts! And Mosuke's desserts are a great success. Starting with an airy dessert, with a siphon of fermented, slightly honeyed milk, caramelized pecans and millet crumble.

We then move on to a fruitier dessert: pineapple slices marinated in sansho syrup, a bissap sorbet - made from hibiscus, that is - and fermented pineapple. A pretty meringue shiso leaf covers it all. Break it open and devour the whole thing!

We end our feast with a trio of chocolate and wasabi desserts: in the first bowl, a warm ganache and smoked fleur de sel cookie, in the second a chocolate and wasabi siphon, and in the third a wasabi and cocoa nib ice cream. A trio that lets us alternate textures, flavors and temperatures as we please.

In short, Mory Sacko has succeeded in offering Mosuke gastronomy that you can't find anywhere else!