"It was," my dining companion recalls with a sigh, "a diet with just one purpose: to get you to put on weight."

Surveying his impressive frame, it's hard not to conclude that those who catered to him had indeed been boning up on force-feeding techniques. Sumo legend Akebono weighed in at 230 kg when back and knee injuries forced him into retirement in January 2001. The two years since have done little to slim him down.

There's no creak of wood, though, as the softly-spoken former wrestler leans back in his seat to laugh. That's because we're here to talk food at Zuna, where the chairs are custom-built to seat even this 11-times grand champion in comfort. "They're sumo-size," explains one of the staff when I ask for more precise measurements. "The seat width is the same as that between a wrestler's feet when he crouches."