Director, Chef at Tokyo French Restaurant Each Get Order from French Government; Contributions to Exchange of Food Culture Recognized

By Chikako Minami / Japan News Staff Writer

12:35 JST, November 20, 2024

Two French nationals working at Tour d’Argent Tokyo, a French restaurant in Japan’s capital, each received an order of merit from the French government at the French Embassy in Tokyo on Nov. 14.

Representative Director and Managing Director Christian Bollard, 66, received the National Order of Merit, and Executive Chef Renaud Augier, 43, received the Order of Agricultural Merit. The two men received the medals, which are Chevalier-grade, for their contributions to developing the exchange of food culture between France and Japan.

Bollard and Augier, wearing medals on their chests, spoke about their delight at receiving the medals and shared their thoughts on the honor at a press conference held at their Chiyoda Ward restaurant on the same day.

“This is the result of the support of many people,” Bollard said.

Augier said, “Wearing this order gives me great encouragement, but I also feel a sense of responsibility.”

Andre Terrail, president of the restaurant’s brand, came from France to attend the event.

Tour d’Argent Tokyo, which opened in Hotel New Otani Tokyo in 1984, is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. It is the sole branch of the flagship Tour d’Argent restaurant, which has an over 400 years history in Paris.

Bollard has served in his post at the Tokyo branch since the restaurant’s opening. He established trade routes to import ingredients such as fresh duck meat and wines, as it was difficult to obtain them in Japan in the early days of the restaurant.

“It wasn’t easy. We couldn’t get dark chocolate,” Bollard said. “[Now,] Japanese customers have knowledge about French cuisine, wines and cheeses and enjoy them. It was completely different 40 years ago.”

With the support of the French Embassy, he also worked with French expats in Japan and others to provide meals for 10 years to people in areas affected by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.

Augier came to Japan in 2013 after working at Tour d’Argent in Paris and other fine dining restaurants in France.

In 2019, he was given the title “Meilleur Ouvrier de France,” meaning “best craftsman of France.”

In 2021, he created a menu called “L’Oeuf Imperial,” which consists of black truffle, celeriac confit and seabream mousse wrapped in gold leaf.

Current and former Japanese employees of the restaurant have won awards in international cooking or sommelier competitions.

“I’ll continue giving my all to guide junior chefs so they can one day be in the same position as I am,” Augier said.