Creative and talented Mory Sacko became a firm favorite during France’s 11th season of Top Chef. Despite their efforts, he and his former colleague Martin Feragus have been heavily criticized by the judges at Top Chef and lost unanimously (15-0). A dismal failure, as yet, never seen in Top Chef, which, however, has not changed the plans of Mory Sacko.
Trained by Thierry Marx at the Mandarin Oriental, the 27-year-old chef went on the show with one ambition: to “seek confirmation” that he was going in the right direction with his cuisine full of contrasts. Mory Sacko will open his first restaurant, Mosuke, in Paris this September. The young chef told us more about his ambitions for his new restaurant.
His restaurant is named ‘Mosuke’ after the first and only African Samurai to have existed in Japan. He was a slave until he met a lord who took him under his wing and raised him to the rank of samurai. His dishes will include cuisine from each culture to accompany the other without distorting it. “It would be a job to serve the African recipe without distorting it.” He said.
Stemming from his love for ‘manga’, a Japan dish and learning more about the culture, he found a lot connections with the African culture. According to him, he is lucky that Paris makes it possible to sample all the cuisines of the world without moving, and in the Mandarin Oriental team he had a lot of Japanese. It allowed him to acquire a lot of knowledge of techniques. “ I want to discover all cultures, and customers will discover them at the same time as me, through my eyes.” He added.
Regardless of his failure at Top Chef, he was able to learn more technical skills through the points of comparison and reflection. He learnt how to place each condiment to influence the taste of the plate as opposed to just wanting it to be pretty. He claims that the show gave me a huge self-confidence boost and also gave him the confirmation he was looking for that he was going in the right direction.
His professional dream is to not only run a successful restaurant but also provide excellent services. “I would say that winning a star is a clear objective. Also, I don’t want Mosuke just to be a trendy restaurant, I really want it to become a permanent fixture in the gastronomic landscape.”
