Toshitaka Omiya, a Japanese chef from Osaka, and Shawn Joyeux, maître d’hôtel, are two sides of the same coin… performing daily at Alliance, on rue de Poissy in Paris’s 5th arrondissement. A gastronomic star that earned its first Michelin star in 2017 and continues to shine brightly in the culinary sky.
They first met in 2011 at Laurent Lapeyre’s L’Agapé. “I was head of the dining room, and Toshitaka — trained at L’Arpège (Alain Passard), Le Cinq (Philippe Legendre) and L’Agapé Substance (David Toutain) — first stepped in for Valentine’s Day, then took the head-chef position.” In February 2015 they joined forces to open their own place. An entrepreneurial adventure led four-hands that nothing could dim: “We went through it all — the Bataclan attacks a week after opening Alliance, the Yellow Vests, and Covid-19. What matters is people; our mindset stayed strong.”
A Creative and Playful Cuisine
Above all, Alliance is a living place. “We’ve managed to create a jewel box (7 tables, 19 seats, 14 staff) where guests are happy to discover or rediscover haute cuisine without paying an astronomical bill,” says Shawn.
Week after week, loyal customers push open the door to live an exceptional culinary experience. Beyond the serene elegance of the décor and Shawn’s legendary hospitality, Alliance serves instinctive, pleasure-driven cuisine — always different, always excellent, and perfectly in tune with the seasons. Deeply attentive to the weather, Toshitaka crafts a seasonal menu.
With every major shift in temperature, the menu evolves. Four times a week, Toshitaka visits the market to source vegetables from carefully chosen local producers. Beef and other meats, selected with the same rigor, are never far from the kitchen’s worktops.
“Fresh produce is at the heart of my cuisine; technique elevates it.” Once selected, the chef orchestrates preparation and cooking methods. “I run a lot of tests and do very little improvisation,” he adds with the quiet modesty he’s known for.
“Surprise,” he says
Everything must be razor-sharp to surprise guests with unexpected pairings — like his land/sea signature dish combining chicken and lobster — or with seamless transitions from savory to sweet. “With Morgane, our pastry chef for the past three years, we make sure the handover from courses to desserts is smooth and harmonious.”
If the dishes served at Alliance are crafted with balance and precision, they’re also inspired by Toshitaka’s dual culture: “I’m a Japanese chef cooking natural French cuisine. I blend flavors, plating, and Japanese cooking methods…”
In six years, the duo Shawn/Toshitaka — together with their loyal team — has turned Alliance into a destination restaurant. “Guests don’t come to us by chance.” They come for an experience — a place of encounters and emotions, where cuisine, wine selection, décor, and style all come together. After opening “Affinité Cuisines” in 2019 at 33 rue de Bièvre, they dream of creating more places to share their unique alliance.