The New Food Capital Of The World.(Society and the Arts; Special Report)(Cover story)

Byline: Christian Caryl and Akiko Kashiwagi; With Ginny Power in Paris And Sophie Grove in London

Toru Okuda was in trouble. He'd slaved away for years to realize his dream of opening a gourmet restaurant in Tokyo, and by 2003 he had finally pulled it off. He'd even managed to land an address for his place, dubbed Koju, in the high-rent district of Ginza--quite an achievement for a thirtysomething from provincial Shizuoka. But just a few months after opening, Okuda realized that one critical ingredient was still missing: customers. "On some days we only had two or three," he recalls. "My cooks and I had to eat all the food. I should have enjoyed it, but it was sticking in my throat." Bankruptcy threatened.

But Okuda persevered, serving impeccably prepared delicacies like charcoal-grilled blowfish and fresh snow crab topped with roe. And this past November he received his reward. Paris-based Michelin, publisher of the world's most authoritative restaurant guides, announced it was awarding him and seven other Tokyo restaurateurs its highest distinction, three stars, rocketing them into the stratosphere of international gastronomy. Okuda's business has since turned around. And he won't be lonely at the top. Michelin's first guide to the Japanese capital--its first devoted to anyplace in Asia, in fact--has made official what many foodies have long suspected: that the center of culinary gravity has shifted to the Land of the Rising Sun. Japan is a food-crazy nation like few others, and it's finally getting the attention it deserves. "We have the best food on the planet," says British restaurant critic and longtime resident Robbie Swinnerton, who has written about Japanese food for two decades. "We knew that for a long time. Now the rest of the world is catching [on]."

Still, the scale of Tokyo's dominance will stun most outsiders. Jean-Luc Naret, the director of the Michelin Guide, knew something extraordinary was up when he and his team of Tokyo inspectors sat down last year after doing their initial reviews and realized that, "for the first time in history," they had enough starred restaurants to fill an entire volume. (Normal Michelin Guides include a selection of notable unstarred restaurants as well as top-rated establishments.) The guide ultimately gave a total of 191 stars to Tokyo, leaving Paris a distant second with 97 and New York third with 54. In fact, Tokyo outshone entire nations with notable culinary pedigrees, including Spain and Portugal combined (133).

Not surprisingly, the publication of the guide has sparked a huge and entertaining controversy. After its appearance, many Japanese critics fretted that European inspectors hadn't comprehended the quirky specifics of Japan's food culture, leaving great restaurants off the list and ignoring masters in favor of their apprentices--a violation of Japan's veneration of seniority. WHAT DO THEY KNOW ABOUT JAPANESE CUISINE? asked the tabloid Nikkan Gendai in a headline in late November. Even some of the chefs who ultimately got good ratings complained (anonymously) that the foreigners hadn't managed to understand classical traditions of subtlety and simplicity; Michelin says that its team included several Japanese experts, but never mind. The Japanese were persnickety even when it came to foreign cuisine; some said Michelin went too easy on French restaurants in Tokyo, while others claimed it was too harsh. Others said Michelin was pandering to Japanese readers: one TV commentator even accused it of "star inflation."

In Paris, Le Figaro announced the news with the headline "Tokyo, New World Center of Gastronomy," and warned: "Paris, which is far behind, better watch out." For months, the article noted, the restaurant world had been anticipating the arrival of Michelin's Tokyo guide, "but no one imagined the explosion that the results of this publication would cause."

Then the damage control operation began. Commentators pointed out that Paris still ranks first in three-star restaurants, with 10 to Tokyo's eight (and New York's three), and that Paris has only about one third as many people as greater Tokyo, so if you count stars on a per capita basis, Paris still wins. Besides, as noted French chef Alain Senderens says, the whole obsession with Michelin stars is elitist and out of date--a fusty honor bestowed largely on overpriced restaurants that still do "starched tablecloths" and "giant napkins."