Jonathan Barthelmess is the first chef to open a modern Greek restaurant in Japan. Well, as far as he knows, that is. But judging by the response, he certainly won’t be the last. The chef launched a satellite of his Sydney local The Apollo in Tokyo last year with business partner Sam Christie, and has seen it hit the ground running, with bookings coming thick and fast.

As far as it is from his restaurant in Potts Point (and after having to go through the Greek Embassy to source dairy and pita), The Apollo Ginza has worked because of an approach embedded in his heritage and drummed into him during his training, where he cites chefs Stefano Manfredi and Janni Kyritsis as inspirations.

“In cooking, it’s very important to source the best produce, because when you strip everything away, it all goes back to the raw ingredients,” says Barthelmess. “Seasonal food is fresher, has a higher nutritional content and definitely tastes better. If you don’t have the fresh raw ingredients, how can you work towards achieving an excellent dish or menu?”

In Japan, that’s meant finding local ingredients that change with the seasons. “Although we’ve kept the key ingredients of olive oil, fresh seafood and vegetables cooked over a wood fire, we have some new additions, such as Japanese beef, and fresh roe for the taramasalata instead of cured,” he explains. “The Japanese produce is amazing; the vegetables especially are more delicate and very sweet.”

Back home, that approach has served him well, whether through dishes like wild weeds and cheese pie, or whole-baked lamb shoulder at The Apollo, or over the road at Japanese izakaya-inspired Cho Cho San, opened with chef Nicholas Wong in 2014. As Barthelmess’ travels continue to inspire him, it’s his rediscovery of Greek cooking that sits at the core of his success, something he took a long time to explore, having focused on Italian earlier in his career. “I hadn’t thought to cook a Greek dish,” he says, citing a Greek heritage dinner with Kyritsis as the turning point. “I was inspired to develop a style of food that appreciated the simplicity of traditional Greek cooking, but added my own touch.”

It’s with that touch that he’s put together a Greek Easter menu here based on his family experiences. “Growing up, I remember eating lamb avgolemono (an egg and lemon sauce) soup and tarama,” he reminisces. “Everyone in the family had a specialty and would cook a dish. Having all the family around, it was a big deal. As big as Christmas.”