Morihisa Fujisaki | Founder of Cafe Igosso

Could you tell us more about your restaurateur portfolio? I came to China in 1995 and set up the first Café Igosso in Dalian in 1996. In 2000, I opened Café Igosso in Beijing and another Japanese restaurant called Igosso by Dashanzi between the two west gates of 798, inside the living compound of Japanese apartment. Wow. We didn’t know about that Japanese restaurant. How did the name come about? Igosso means to go straight ahead, without faltering or a change of mind. We were told you signed a 10 year lease in Dalian in the 90’s, were you confident of the success from the start? During that time, it was considered very expensive by Chinese standards, but not in Japan. The Chinese didn’t know much about western cuisine, they didn’t even drink coffee. Many foreigners were studying mandarin in China in the 90’s, so I felt that opening a western restaurant was a good idea, given that the investment wasn’t too large. Then, students only spent money on studying Chinese, but for me, I could enjoy a language immersion without paying tuition fees and run my restaurant business. I only started leasing Café Igosso in Beijing by Guomao bridge in 2003. Having been featured in Frommer’s and the New York Times with several mentions that it’s a perfect romantic setting for a date, what are your thoughts? Oh really! I didn’t know. I didn’t have any specific plans for the restaurant. I just wanted to do my thing and invest in something that makes me happy.

What inspired the décor and ambience of Café Igosso? It was my idea, I found some artists to paint on the walls and put the place together. How much do you think Café Igosso has changed relative to the dining scene in beijing? During SARs in 2003, there were no customers. We closed for 1 month and when we reopened, we made do with 2-3 customers a day. It was a very difficult time, but we pulled through. Where are your chefs from? Did you plan the menu? I planned the menu and I was the chef, but now I’ve employed Chinese chefs whom I’ve trained. My parents were in the restaurant business and I started learning the ropes when I was 18 years old. I lived and worked in New York for 3 years in a restaurant. Do you have new projects in the pipeline? I’m opening a new Italian restaurant at Gongti also called Igosso.