Monthly Memo From Doi's Culinary Philosophy
Original text by Doi Yoshiharu
Translated by Yoshiko Fukuda
January - Mutsuki
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*In the old Japanese calendar, each month was given an informal name, one that is more poetic in sound and meaning. Therefore, instead of Ichigatsu, or the formal Japanese translation of January, Mutsuki is used here, which signifies the month of affection, since family and friends gather for the New Years celebration.
(Information on Mutsuki - "Calendar, dates, and time." JAPAN: An Illustrated Encyclopedia 1 A-L. 1993 ed. )●Now that we have entered the 21st century, I am finally starting to grasp the meaning of "the Information Technology Age". Although I am standing at the threshold of this new century, I cannot even begin to imagine what the coming years will bring. Therefore the only thing I can do is to hope that the future will still allow people to live and experience the few moments of true joy and kindness in their everyday life. Making progress and advancing further than what was thought possible, seemed to have marked the last century and it probably will for this century. However, we should never forget to look back once in a while, slowing down to a pace where we can truly appreciate what is going on around us.
『Thoughts on Japanese Cooking of the 21st Century』
●In Japan, the fact that people follow trends even in what they eat and also that many are lucky enough to eat whatever they crave for, seemed to have encouraged the spread of inorganic food in the market. Convenient meals like the TV dinners and prepackaged food sold at convenient stores, advanced the habit of eating alone among the Japanese. It is quite unbelievable that there are close to a 40% of those who are not bothered by having meals placed before them still in their fast food wrappers at dinner tables. From meals that do not require any preparing at all but only the process of eating, it is obvious that no new aspect to a culture will arise. Even if there was some resistance to instant foods initially, the feeling will eventually be lost if one repeatedly encounters that sort of "easy" meals. However, if this "non-time-consuming" home cooking (or no cooking at all) continues, then there is no doubt that many of the important values at home will also be lost.
○During the last twenty years of the 20th century, many of the traditional Japanese aspect was lost in its culture of food. Whether we noticed it or not, many of our customary diet offered us comfort and relief, although those are the times we look back to and remember as the poorer days. Moreover, the most important element of Japanese life lies within those that are being neglected now as the wave of inorganic meals sweep many homes, like eating with other family members gathered around the table, realizing the subtle difference in taste, and getting scolded after not following appropriate table manners.
I think that people are finally realizing that having plenty does not necessarily mean gaining new things, since many values at home are slipping through our fingers without us even noticing it.
●There was a great conflict in the field of French cooking at the very end of the century. Chef Alain Ducasse, the most distinguished chef of our time, brought to France the concept of returning to natural basics. With this theme in mind, he introduced his "Lard Paysan", which was one of his favorite dish from his childhood. When I actually ate his dish in Paris, I was moved with a mixed sense of shock, since the taste reminded me of nothing else but the Japanese meal, Niku-jaga. Of course that 'Niku-jaga' was refined in order to be served at a three star restaurant in Paris. But his cooking which captured the trend of the time, completely overturned the traditional style of cooking in Paris causing great controversy even involving the local media. This demonstrated the critical eye that France has and I was only jealous to see its involvement in cooking. In the end, however, the controversy settled down by giving Alain Ducasse the best evaluation possible.
The cooking by Chef Alain Ducasse is usually very simple for his dishes never take on any supercilious air. Furthermore, he never forgets to take great care of his ingredients. Just the other day, I visited his restaurant "SPOON Food and Wine" in Tokyo, and was again overwhelmed by the reasonable prices, the structure and the interior of the restaurant and the cooking which all seemed to exemplify his philosophy.
Yet at the same time I was wondering how much of this simplicity would be accepted by the Japanese today.
●Nowadays, just like most of the countries in the world, Japan is also getting "Americanized". Because of this influence, restaurants are evaluated by the exaggerated individuality of their menus or by the lavishing effect one dish has. Restaurants now are all trying to do something different to grab people's attention. Thus, the media focuses mainly on those kind of uniqueness in a restaurant rather than the quality of the meals or the restaurants atmosphere, because people have become overly sensitive about "originality". From what I have heard one chain restaurant have become popular because they started serving foie gras. It seems that the trick behind this is the same as the time when the brand Luis Vuitton made a world record in sales of four hundred million yen in one of its branch stores in Japan in the midst of economical recession.
○In my opinion, restaurants should never forget the basic attitude in cooking. A chef should always cook to make the customers satisfied and happy, both physically and mentally. Therefore they should not convert their ways to only business.
●Up until now, many Japanese chefs also cooked Asian and European dishes. Yet it was known that they were substituting many of the ingredients like sake for wine and little cut pieces of meat instead of a whole chicken. However as demand for authenticity in cooking got higher, the Japanese finally realized that their previous methods were not legitimate since it was only an imitation cooking. Therefore many of the Japanese chefs were replaced by native chefs. Naturally, same would be demanded for Japanese cooking, the food's authenticity. But, sadly, I do not know how much of that can be obtained since it is obvious that that core element is already lost in Japanese home cooking.
●An anecdote I had heard about the late Mr. Ryoutarou Shiba, a Japanese historical writer, involved the role, restaurants play in people's lives. When his wife decided to take culinary lessons from Chef Shoukichi Ono of Hotel Okura, he said "I don't mind you taking lessons but I don't want you to cook at home the meals that you have learned." His comment affected me greatly because what he said signified that he had separated clearly the taste of home cooking and cooking by professionals. He was expecting a sort of an ideal taste when he ate out. This made me think about my role and its values in this modern society and most of all about my cooking. This story became a reminder and a kind of a pressure at the same time to me.
●In the 21st century, restaurants that serve nutritious and refined foods should be considered the best. I believe that eating inorganically gown vegetables and fresh fish will make us energetic and healthy the most, something taking vitamins and food supplement pills can never equal. I often think that people who lack spiritedness are boring, and I feel that the same can be applied to vegetables and fishes.
Since I am stressing the freshness of vegetables and fish, I will point out that the ones that are brought from afar is never too good. Higher quality freezing techniques are being developed but the thawing process always damages the food in one way or another. Also, to make vegetables look fresh and strong, farmers must spray chemicals and pesticides which makes vegetables harmful to human beings. Although it is enforced by law to indicate if a vegetable is inorganic and to label if certain foods contain genetically modified ingredients, people still have to rely heavily on the trust they have with supermarkets and manufacturers when they buy their food. From my experience, we will probably have to count on the manufacturers' words the most in the end because legal regulations can never function completely to our satisfaction.
●At the end of the year, I had a chance to eat at a restaurant in Kyoto. Their service was very agreeable, efficient, and enthusiastic, leaving customers with a pleasant satisfaction. The waiters had warm personalities and never became too businesslike with their service. Just like their service, the same principles should be applied to workers in the kitchen. I hope I will continue to have that sort of genuine passion toward cooking also.
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