Monaco will be flying the flag at the 2026 French Sushi Championship this spring, as Chef Murugaiya Sathees of The Niwaki restaurant prepares to compete against some of the country’s top sushi specialists in La Rochelle on April 14.
Now in its ninth year, the prestigious competition will bring together 16 chefs from across France for a full day of technical challenges and creative showcases. Organised by Sushi Robots as part of the inaugural À la table du Japon exhibition, the event has become a benchmark for excellence in Japanese culinary craftsmanship in France.
Chef Sathees, who leads the kitchen at Monaco’s The Niwaki, will take on four demanding rounds designed to test precision, authenticity and originality. Competitors will first face a technical preparation and fish-cutting challenge, followed by an Edomae and sashimi round focused on traditional techniques. A creative course will allow chefs to reinterpret sushi with a personal twist, before a final signature tasting presentation judged by a panel of industry experts.
Seafood for the competition will be supplied by CAPFOCÉAN, a La Rochelle-based distributor, ensuring the highest quality ingredients for the contestants.
The championship currently holds added prestige after the 2025 title was claimed by Pierre-Maël Belaifa, whose victory underscored the increasingly high standards of the contest. The winner of this year’s edition will join a growing list of chefs who have gone on to build national and international reputations in Japanese gastronomy.
The jury will be led by Yuko Perez, a specialist in Japanese cuisine and president of the French and European Sushi Championships. She will be joined by respected culinary figures including food critic Chihiro Masui, former French champion Wagner Spadacio, reigning title-holder Pierre-Maël Belaifa, Vice-Champion Marie Séguin, Chef Ippei Uemura of Marseille’s Tabi restaurant, and Suda San, a washoku expert and international culinary ambassador.
The championship will take place during the first edition of À la table du Japon, a two-day event open to the public at La Rochelle’s Espace Encan. Alongside the sushi competition, visitors will witness the launch of France’s first-ever Ramen Championship, as well as live demonstrations, masterclasses, cultural performances and a Japanese-themed marketplace.
For Monaco, Chef Sathees’ participation offers an opportunity to showcase the Principality’s culinary talent on a national stage, highlighting its growing presence in high-end Japanese gastronomy.