Ten years ago, Jérémie, the founder of KOTAI, left his hometown of Lille to embark on a journey to Asia, where he discovered a passion for cooking. During his travels, he encountered frustrations with dull knives: inefficiency, injuries... A solution was needed.

He then adopted a magnificent knife from Kappabashi Street in Tokyo, highly favoured by professionals and renowned for their exceptional sharpness. However, he realized that this knife model required frequent maintenance to prevent oxidation, chipping or breakage.

"Traditional Japanese knives are sharp, precise, and beautiful, but they are also fragile and prone to chipping and oxidation if not maintained very specifically. Western knives are robust, durable, and resistant to oxidation, but they lack the sharp edge and agility of their Asian counterparts."

Obsessed with this dilemma, he consulted countless knife makers, designers, metallurgical engineers, chefs, and cooking enthusiasts. And three years and a hundred prototypes later, KOTAI was born: light, precise, and ultra-sharp like a Japanese knife, stainless, sturdy, and highly resistant like a German knife.