Takao Inazawa

Last June we invited to cook at Planque chef Takao Inazawa of Paris restaurant Cuisine.

After successful stints at Verre Volé and Benkay, in 2019 Takao and co-founder Benoit Simon, formerly of Chateaubriand, opened their ten-table bistrot in the 9th district of Paris, quickly becoming one of the city’s most popular destinations for foodies and wine lovers alike.

After the dinner we sat down with Takao to talk about the wines he loves drinking.

Here is our conversation.

1. You're handed a wine list, what do you do?

First, I read through everything and if there is a wine I'm interested in, I order it. if not, I leave it to the sommelier.

2. How do you know the wine you're drinking is good?

When I naturally want to drink more

3. What is something fascinating you’ve been told over lunch?

I have no idea

4. In whose company do you most enjoy drinking wine?

With a friend or the person who made it. My wife cannot drink alcohol.

5. Can you describe your ideal combination of wine, music, and setting?

With good friends. Outdoors, or at a table with a nice view, or in a spacious, chic space with high ceilings, I think the music, the sounds of birds, water, and trees sound enough to cover the silence.

6. What sort of food would you add to the equation?

Basically, I think it's fine to eat what you like, but I think it's good to create a sense of solidarity when everyone shares a large piece of meat or fish.

7. What is the most memorable bottle of wine you’ve drank?

When Pierre Overnoy brought his fake wine from the curve and we drank it together.

I also remember eating his Vin jaune and excellent Comté cheese at Jean Foillard's house with him and the Houillon family in the morning. Since then, the combination of Vin jaune and Comté cheese has been a shock to me.

I have had many opportunities to drink delicious wine, but those are the only ones that have left an impression on me.

8. Where did you drink it?

I don't remember what year it was, but the etiquette of the year before he started brewing, and it wasn't bad, so we drank it while chatting.

9. Is there a characteristic you look for in a wine and in a friend?

Not heavy, not tedious, not persistent

10. What is your approach to drinking?

I think the character of the person who made the food and the wine comes out but the wine changes its expression every day like a living thing, so I don't judge it just by drinking it once. It's all the more because the people who drink and the environment are different every time.

11. Do you apply this approach in other aspects of life?

Other people's shortcomings are especially noticeable, but I feel that life is a little more enjoyable when I find their strengths and become more tolerant.

12. What shall we open next?

A light red.

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