The maple wood destined to form the body of each Arakuto altar is of the highest quality available. Sourced from mature trees in North American forests and FSC-certified, ensuring the sustainable and responsible management of this precious resource.

Upon arrival at our atelier, the maple wood, delivered as timbers, is carefully cut into pieces close to the desired final dimensions. This is followed by an initial planing—a crucial step to remove saw marks and reveal a smooth, clean surface. This process highlights the unique shades of color and grain of each piece.

It is at this stage that the sensitivity of our artisans comes into play, their eyes keenly searching for pieces that stand out for their "personality": the eloquence of a grain, the originality of a hue, the brilliance of a reflection, or the subtlety of a tone. The selected pieces are then matched into small sets with a natural and stylistic affinity. Only these pieces, chosen for their character and harmony, are destined to become an Arakuto altar.

The Preparation phase takes its essence from its Latin etymology praeparare, meaning "to put in order in advance." In our vision, this meaning is enriched with a symbolic dimension: the act of perfecting and readying each piece for what it is destined to become.

At this stage, the artisans shape each selected piece individually, planing and shaving them through sanding with care and dedication to achieve the utmost precision in the desired dimensions. A geometric inspection ensures that pieces revealing imperfections, barely perceptible to the eye, are discarded. This final examination of each piece will guarantee their perfect integration, coming together to form the majestic whole of an Arakuto altar.

The Layout marks a pivotal transition in the creation of an Arakuto altar: for the first time, the individual pieces, meticulously shaped until now, are laid out dry to form a coherent composition.

Each piece of wood is evaluated in its interaction with the others, as our artisans orchestrate this arrangement following the rules of the craft, particularly considering the grain direction of each piece. This meticulous process aims to balance subtle contrasts of grain and color while showcasing the unique character of every piece.

This process, akin to that of a mosaic artist, involves the Arakuto artisan finding the perfect place for each element within a vibrant and harmonious composition, which is ultimately validated by Thierry Forbois before proceeding to gluing. The Layout is an art where aesthetic sensibility meets a deep technical mastery of the wood’s nature. It is in this secret that the singular beauty of the emerging altar resides.

The unification phase is where the carefully arranged pieces are fused to form the solid and enduring body of a culinary altar.

The artisan begins the gluing process by temporarily separating each piece from the composition to apply a layer of high-performance, food-grade water-based glue. The pieces are then meticulously reassembled into their original arrangement and placed within a clamping frame. This frame exerts both powerful and uniform pressure, ensuring a flawless bond between the pieces and achieving the impeccable geometry of the assembly.

Though seemingly a purely technical step, this stage holds profound symbolism: it is here that the whole surpasses the sum of its parts, where the altar, once a vision of separate elements, begins to emerge as the unified manifestation of a singular body.

The first phase of maturation marks the beginning of a process where time and the elements play a crucial role in evaluating each Arakuto altar. Freshly glued, the altars are placed in our maturation chamber, a controlled environment designed to monitor and guide the natural "workings of the wood."

For 30 days, the altars rest in a maturation rack, exposed to daily variations in temperature and humidity that simulate the changing ambient conditions of a home. These fluctuations are intentionally created to subtly provoke the wood's natural tensions, allowing our artisans to detect the emergence of microcracks or any other signs that could compromise the altar’s structural integrity or geometry.

While every detail has been rigorously controlled up to this point, this stage allows us to confirm the altar's quality and longevity. It also ensures that only pieces meeting our exacting standards move forward in their transformation. By dividing the maturation process into three distinct phases, we guarantee that only the most flawless creations progress toward becoming the final masterpiece.

After thirty days of initial maturation, the altar undergoes a decisive step: the primary sculpting. This phase involves carving directly into the altar’s body to give it its definitive silhouette. Using manual and mechanical tools, the artisan removes the material to reveal the angles and reliefs characteristic of the altar model.

For Pegasus and Draco, this stage also includes carving the recesses for the counter-grain battens—an original and aesthetic signature. These battens are immediately inserted and glued with meticulous care.

The primary sculpting tolerates no clumsiness. A fleeting hesitation, a second of distraction, or the faintest miscalculation can compromise the integrity of the altar, or undo all the work accomplished… This task demands a steady hand, solid experience, an intimate understanding of the nature of the wood, and the ability to absorb oneself fully in the moment of the gesture. That's why this task, like a mission, is entrusted exclusively to Arakuto's Master artisans, the true guardians of this art.

Following the primary sculpting, the altar enters its second maturation phase, an essential period from day 31 to day 60. This stage shares the same purpose as the first maturation: to allow the wood to "work" and stabilize while closely monitoring its integrity.

However, our focus now shifts to observing the effects of the significant alterations made during the sculpting and the insertion of the counter-grain battens. These transformations, though masterfully executed, can subtly shift the natural tensions within the wood. Daily inspections are conducted to ensure that no imperfections, such as micro-cracks or geometric distortions, arise as the altar adjusts to these changes.

As with the first phase, this second maturation serves as a pivotal checkpoint in the creation process. Any altar that fails to meet Arakuto's rigorous standards at this stage will not proceed to the next steps. Only those that embody exceptional craftsmanship will continue their journey toward completion as Arakuto culinary altars.

The constellation step, or Ad Astra – “To the stars,” as we like to call it – involves inlaying black walnut dowels into the body of the altar, leaving small, dark discs visible on its surface. These discs represent the stars forming the constellation that gives the altar its name. Each disc varies in diameter to reflect the visible brightness (magnitude) of its corresponding star in the sky.

This meticulous, goldsmith-like work must be carried out with great care by the artisan, who adjusts each dowel to its cavity with extreme precision. The slightest excess play could disengage a star from the altar’s surface and compromise its hermetic qualities, while forcing a dowel too tightly could cause the surrounding wood to bulge.

The presence of these stars on the surface of every Arakuto altar commemorates the profound connection between life on Earth and the stars of the universe. It also serves as an invitation to rekindle the fire of our inner stars.

Finally, by using only black walnut cored from reclaimed wood, we reaffirm our commitment to responsible resource management, staying true to Arakuto’s ideals.

At this stage, the altar’s body finally takes its ultimate form as its silhouette undergoes its final refinement. Every surface is meticulously hand-sanded in multiple passes, using increasingly fine grits to reveal the wood’s full beauty.

Next comes a task reserved exclusively for a master artisan: the creation of chamfers that adorn all the edges of the altar. Executed directly with a Japanese plane, this delicate operation gives the edges a diamond-like brilliance. Each movement of the plane, precise and inspired, imparts a finish of unparalleled purity and poetry to the altar.

This stage, imbued with delicacy and artistry, marks the culmination of the sculptural process.

The final maturation marks a pivotal phase in the life of an Arakuto altar. Spanning from day 61 to day 90, this is the moment where the altar must prove its worth—not only as a work of art but also as a resilient object, capable of standing the test of time.

At this stage, the altar has fully taken shape, and its wood has undergone significant transformations. Careful inspections continue, ensuring no weaknesses—whether cracks or warping—emerge as the wood settles into its final form.

Unlike the earlier phases, the focus here shifts to validation. The varying temperature and humidity conditions in the maturation chamber are no longer merely tests but confirmations of the altar's readiness to endure life beyond the atelier. Each altar that successfully passes this final trial becomes a testament to exceptional craftsmanship and the timeless ideals of Arakuto.

Three months of maturation, a hundred hours of artisanal dedication, and a final sanding bring the altar to the threshold of its transformation. Adorned with its constellation of stars, its wood radiates beauty and purpose. And yet, remarkable as it may be, the piece is not yet an altar.

It is at this moment that Thierry Forbois performs a solemn ceremony, imbuing the altar with its symbolic dimension. After withdrawing into himself, communing with the tree sacrificed for its creation, and silently paying tribute to the artisans whose dedication, talent, and persistence have shaped it, he takes up a sledgehammer. With a single, powerful, and precise strike, he drives a steel punch against the altar’s maple edge. This irrevocable act leaves the indelible imprint of the Arakuto emblem, consecrating the altar.

Through this gesture, the altar—an object of beauty, artisanal mastery, and priceless utility—becomes, from this moment on, an object of the sacred. It is, and forever will be, an Arakuto culinary altar.

After the ritual of the strike that consecrates it, the culinary altar enters its final days before finding its place in the kitchen of its future guardian. Once a day, for three consecutive days, the altar is anointed with a layer of naturally polymerized linseed oil. This oil penetrates deeply into the wood, providing enduring protection while revealing the richness of its grain and the brilliance of its hues.

On the fourth day, the altar receives its final anointing. A generous application of the Cure Balm, a signature blend crafted in-house from jojoba, coconut, and argan oils, beeswax, and carnauba wax, enriched with essential oils of lemon, frankincense, and benzoin, is lovingly applied. This ultimate treatment, entirely food-grade and made with 100% organic ingredients, has been specially formulated for the daily and integral care of Arakuto altars.

The final stage in the creation of an Arakuto culinary altar is the placement of its mark of authenticity. On the back of each altar, a stainless steel plaque engraved with the constellation that gives it its name commemorates the artisans’ craftsmanship. This plaque is also fitted with a high-security holographic label featuring a unique serial number. This hologram, tamper-proof and impossible to transfer, guarantees the altar’s authenticity and protects it against any attempt at counterfeiting.

At this stage, height-adjustable bumpers are also installed. Made from high-performance polyurethane rubber, these bumpers are non-marking and anti-slip, ensuring optimal stability for the altar while protecting the surface on which it rests.

Thus, endowed with its mark of authenticity and mounted on its bumpers, the culinary altar is complete. Ready to offer its surface to the gestures of cooking, to become a space where one reconnects with the healing power of the real, and a place to reintroduce the sacred into daily life.