Representing the cutting edge of Osaka gastronomy, Yusuke Takada’s ever-evolving La Cime has built up a border-crossing reputation with its bold ingredient pairings. Here, seasonal greens like bitter melon or Kamo nasu eggplant may be enhanced with a vinaigrette incorporating ishiru fish sauce from the Noto Peninsula, in what’s only one example of Takada’s determination to enhance his world-class cooking with undervalued ingredients and condiments used in regional cuisines across Japan.
Nicknamed ‘the kitchen of Japan’, Osaka is well recognised as one of the world’s most delicious cities. And while casual delights like takoyaki and udon remain the main draw for many visiting foodies, the city’s reputation as a hub for high-end gastronomy has skyrocketed in recent years – in 2024, it was second only to Kyoto among the Asian cities with the most Michelin-starred restaurants per capita.
Osaka’s rise as a fine dining destination is music to the ears of chef Yusuke Takada, whose restaurant La Cime is as of 2025 the city’s only representative on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. We caught up with the trailblazing chef for a quick chat about how restaurants in Japan can stand out in the hyper-competitive world of global gourmet.
Leave an impression
‘Reflect on the past, illuminate the present.’ At La Cime, Yusuke Takada lets this ancient Japanese saying guide his efforts to bring classical French cooking techniques to bear on undervalued ingredients and condiments from his native Amami Oshima and throughout western Japan.
The chef’s aim is to conjure up culinary experiences that stay with the diner long after the last bite. For Takada, appealing to all five senses holds the key to such memorable meals. ‘In our age of instantly available information, you have to reach out to people on a sensory level if you want to be remembered,’ he says.
‘I think aromas are particularly important [in gastronomy], since they can be imbued with spiritual and emotional meaning. With the right combinations of sensory stimuli, you can connect with guests from all over the world.’
Another key focus is temperature. Takada realised early on his career that serving dishes rather hot – at around 60 degrees – allows their aromas to spread, bringing out the character of the dish as intended by the chef.
Takada is also a big advocate of challenging cuisine. ‘People these days are too used to soft foods,’ he says. ‘But you really should be moving your jaw [while eating]. Chewing not only makes flavours more apparent; it stimulates your brain, too.’ Many of the dishes served at La Cime dare diners to get out their comfort zone and rediscover the joys of texture.
Osakan challenges
While Takada praises Japan’s distribution system for ingredients as the best in the world, he recognises that it’s Tokyo, not Osaka, that enjoys the greatest benefits of this well-oiled machine – no matter where the ingredients may come from in the first place.
‘Awaji Island and the Seto Inland Sea, for instance, produce excellent wagyu and seafood,’ he says. ‘But the Osaka tradition of prioritising low prices hasn’t always been helpful when it comes to sourcing the highest-quality ingredients.’
And while more and more suppliers now offer distinctively Osakan produce such as heirloom Naniwa vegetables, Takada laments how many of the finest ingredients flow to Tokyo instead of staying local. ‘You have to turn scarcity into an advantage,’ he says. ‘The branding of [Osaka produce] needs to involve making them available in their home region first and foremost.’
Don’t be a teacher
Takada's concerns extend to the Japanese culinary scene as a whole. ‘The pace of evolution in places like South America and Southeast Asia is astonishing, and Japan is falling behind,’ he claims. ‘For instance, I was amazed by the creativity I saw at a restaurant in Peru, where they completed a meal of more than ten courses in an extremely bare-bones environment.’
For Takada, reinventing yourself deserves more recognition. ‘There’s no innovation in “defensive cooking”,’ he says. ‘For Japan’s food scene to evolve, we need to focus more on those who challenge the status quo.’
Avoiding repetition comes naturally for a chef who has made change the only constant in his kitchen over La Cime’s 15-year run. ‘Seeking out well-established flavours is fine, but the culinary world should also allow for restaurants that try to mix things up,’ he says.
Not content with simply serving elaborate meals, Takada is out to redefine dining as an experience. ‘Everyone tends to overexplain food these days,’ he says. ‘I like to leave the thinking up to my guests.’
