Chef Mory Sacko on the most exciting places to eat in the city right now.

After competing in the French edition of the cooking show Top Chef in 2020, Senegal-born Mory Sacko was catapulted by his African- and Japanese-inspired dishes. Less than a year later, the 28-year-old's innovative restaurant MoSuke, in Paris's 14th arrondissement, has earned a Michelin star.

How would you describe your cooking?

I bring together French, African, and Japanese influences, so what customers are looking for when they come to MoSuke is a flavor that they have never tasted before and won't be able to find anywhere else. For example, we serve unagi—grilled Japanese freshwater eel—with condiments that are reminiscent of lasary manga, which is a Malagasy mango salad. And then we have the classic Senegalese dish, chicken yassa, which I like to reinterpret with French and Japanese produce, whether it's sweet onions from Cévennes or fruit such as yuzu and sudachi. The idea is to have fun with these dishes and make them with completely different ingredients.

Why do you think MoSuke has been so successful?

I think the mix of food is particularly intriguing. When you see it on paper you don't really know what you're going to be eating, so the best way to find out is to order. Our restaurant offers a bit of adventure. Coming to MoSuke is a bit like going to the airport: you experience a meal for two or three hours, during which we transport you to West Africa, South Africa, and Japan, and sometimes somewhere in between. The idea is to take customers on a journey through food. What I do is very much still French cuisine. It's a way of showing how society here is changing. It's increasingly multicultural and diverse. I'm a French chef, but a 21st-century one.

What's the Parisian food scene like right now?

It's in full bloom. We're seeing new chefs who are completely different than what people were used to 15 or 20 years ago, and the food is different, too—it's not constricted by the traditional codes. There is also much more diversity. A few years ago, the Asian cuisine in Paris was mainly Chinese, but now you can get Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Thai here very easily. Parisians are more informed about what they are eating. We're still behind cities like London in terms of the variety, but we're heading in that direction and I think it's great.

Which are your favorite restaurants in the capital?

Chef Bertrand Grébaut at Septime has developed a science when it comes to handling ingredients, seasonality, textures, and cooking. He's got real savoir-faire. Also what Jérôme Banctel does at La Réserve Paris's Le Gabriel restaurant is amazing in terms of rigor, precision, technique…I think he's every chef's favorite chef. Another standout is David Toutain's namesake place.

Any other foodie addresses?

Mamiche. It's not exactly a traditional bakery but I love what they do there. And Goguette in the 11th arrondissement is, without a doubt, one of the best natural-wine cellars in Paris.

What's your go-to neighborhood?

The Canal Saint-Martin in the 10th arrondissement. There are some great restaurants around there, and I'm usually guided by my stomach! One of my favorites is a small Asian canteen called Siseng, where I'm a regular, and right next door is Le Comptoir Général, which is a fun place to go for drinks. It also sometimes serves street food such as bokit, a Guadeloupean fried sandwich, and accras, or salt-cod fritters, which are a good late-night snack. On the other side of the canal is Early June, with a fantastic wine cellar, and further up is Candide, where chef Alessandro Candido cooks the most delicious roast chicken on Sundays.