Zaiyu Hasegawa from Den and Hiroyasu Kawate from Florilége, the world-renowned Japanese chefs who are on the list of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants, have joined forces to start work on their new restaurant Denkushiflori, which will open in October.

Den’s chef Zaiyu Hasegawa, who is ranked 3rd on Asia’s Best Restaurants list, and Florilége’s chef Hiroyasu Kawate, who is ranked 7th, have joined hands for their new restaurant Denkushiflori, which will open in October in Tokyo. “We are the same age, and we both opened our restaurants around the same time,” Hasegawa and Kawate said in a statement, adding, “We became very good friends as we were going through similar ups and downs. We have always had the idea to be partners and open a restaurant together, so it’s been something long in the making.”

The name of their new restaurant, which consists of a combination of the names Den and Florilége, also includes the Japanese word ‘Kushi’, which means ‘skewer’. The chefs said: “In every dish, we will use skewers, but this doesn’t limit us to yakitori [grilled chicken skewers] as people may expect. Kushi is also used in a metaphorical sense. Every dish will be Den and Florilège combined. We want our ideas to be linked and merged into one. It is not French; it is not Japanese. It is something we create together,” said the chefs.

According to the 50best, while the menu is still undisclosed, the only hint given by chefs is that seasonal ingredients will come together in new ways. The chefs point out that the design of the new restaurant will be similar to Florilége’s design, with an open kitchen concept where guests can watch the preparation of their meal.