Natsuko Shoji
Natsuko Shoji (Japanese: 庄司夏子 Shōji Natsuko; born August 16, 1989[2]) is a Japanese chef and pâtissier. She is the founder, owner, and chef of the high-end restaurant "été" in Tokyo,[2] and her unique artistic style of pastry-making has awarded her various accolades, including Asia's Best Pastry Chef in 2020[3] and Asia's Best Female Chef in 2022.[4] Shoji's signature style of pastry is the "jewellery box" mango and fruit tarts, which feature intricate arrangements of fresh fruits and sweets.
Terastal Fest ex
For the Terastal Fest ex subset, Shoji was requested by Creatures, Inc. to create an artwork for the Eevee ex card included in the set. Creatures, Inc. founder Tsunekazu Ishihara has visited été multiple times and attended a celebratory dinner with his colleagues in 2022, after which one of the staff members suggested a collaboration between Creatures Inc. and the restaurant. Shoji initially wanted to create an illustration for Pikachu, as it matches the color of her signature mango tarts, but Creatures Inc. staff recommended she create a Tera Eevee ex illustration, with the company noting that the Pokémon's potential to evolve into many different types and its Terastallized state both match Shoji's pastries, which uses a variety of fruits arranged like jewellery.[5][6]
For the card illustration, Shoji and her team designed and created a cake inspired by the Terastal phenomenon, featuring fresh fruits cut into hexagonal shapes reminiscent of the Tera Jewel for the Stellar Tera Type.[5][6] Her contribution is credited in the card as "Natsuko Shoji été".
Artwork
This is a collection of official Pokémon artwork created by Natsuko Shoji.
Cards illustrated
A full list of cards illustrated by Shoji can be found here.
Eevee ex Special illustration rare print for Terastal Fest ex
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 (December 6, 2024). "ハイクラスパック「テラスタルフェスex」にはアジアベスト女性シェフでパティシエの庄司夏子さんとタイアップしたカードを収録！" Pokémon Card Game Trainers Website (Japanese).
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Natsuko Shoji | été
- ↑ Sgarbi, Giulia (April 14, 2020). "How Natsuko Shoji combined fashion and gastronomy to become Asia’s Best Pastry Chef." 50 Best.
- ↑ Vialou-Clark, Chloe (February 16, 2022). "5 dishes that catapulted Asia’s Best Female Chef Natsuko Shoji onto the world stage." 50 Best.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 ゆーみん17, 竹内白州 (December 6, 2024). "【ポケカ】“テラスタルフェスex”収録のイーブイexにケーキが登場!? どうしてケーキがポケモンカードになったのか、株式会社ポケモン・石原社長とパティシエの庄司夏子さんに訊いてみた" Famitsu.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Koike, Yuri (December 6, 2024). "été 庄司夏子が手がけたポケモンカードの誕生秘話 | Interviews". Hypebeast.JP.
External links
- Natsuko Shoji's profile on the été official website
- Natsuko Shoji on Instagram
- Natsuko Shoji on Twitter
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