Mitou had something to celebrate last month. In the February ceremony in Busan for the 2024 Michelin Guide Seoul/Busan, Mitou was called up to receive an additional star, making it a two-Michelin-starred restaurant. The announcement came three years after the restaurant earned its first star for The Michelin Guide Seoul 2021.
For Mitou’s chefs Kwon Young-woon (right) and Kim Bo-mi, the award served as a kind of reassurance. “It feels like we have been told that we are heading in the right direction,” said Kim.
The name of the restaurant means “not yet arrived,” and the two chefs are refining their skills every day as they’re always striving to reach new heights. “Since we set our own path, we just had to believe that we were on the right track, and the second star functions as an affirmation,” Kwon said.
They often think about their direction.
“We are always curious what’s at the end of the road we are walking on, and debate whether there ever is an end to anything,” said Kim, adding that it is actually up to them to decide.
“All we can do is to do our best to make the most of the time given to us in a day, and the additional star has definitely given us more confidence that we could be doing something right.”
Since its opening in 2018, what has changed the most is the food served at Mitou. Or to be more specific, how the two chefs cook has changed. Before, they were focusing on a type of dish that they wanted to try, but now, nothing starts unless they decide on what ingredients to use. They find the ingredients first and then come up with cooking techniques that highlight the particular flavors, scents, and texture.
“We first think about what aspect of the ingredient we want to highlight,” said Kwon, “It can be a scent that we want to bring forth, or texture in the mouth.”
The main reason they focus on discovering the characteristics of the ingredients is because they almost exclusively use seasonal produce, and seasonal foods can be boring to some.
“If we eat the same ingredients cooked in the same style every year whenever they are in season, some diners may just think that the ingredient is no longer interesting and too mundane,” said Kwon. “So we want to focus on how to make that ingredient feel new every year.”
Also, if they do decide on a dish first and look for the ingredients, chances are, the ingredients they have in mind will be difficult to source. That’s something they have realized as they hunt for ingredients every year.
“Certain ingredients are only available for a couple of weeks, so we developed the habit of securing the ingredients first,” said Kim. “We are learning more things as we work so that we can focus on getting to the level we want to reach after all.”
They are always aware of changing restaurant trends in Japan and Korea, as they cook Japanese food in Seoul. Although many diners here would love to see them deliver “traditional and authentic” Japanese food without any significant interventions from the chefs, Mitou is slowly finding a way to incorporate the chefs’ style into what feels Japanese.
“Very slowly, thanks to continuous cultural exchange between countries all across the world, even Japanese dishes that are rarely spicy seem to incorporate spices these days,” said Kwon. “In line with the subtle changes we have seen, we also try to make such subtle changes in our food so that we can always keep moving forward.”
