Judges see progress in regional restaurants

The Destination Restaurants award does not simply commend chefs — rather, this accolade both recognizes chefs whose cooking is strongly rooted in their local region and celebrates the gastronomic treats unique to that area. It also serves as a list that will help inbound visitors from across the globe to become more closely acquainted with Japan’s richly complex culinary culture.

Merely highlighting values such as sustainability and local production for local consumption is not enough to enable guests to discern the distinctive features of a region. Ways to express what delights the palate and culinary values alike have changed continually through the ages, reflecting the environment, politics, art and aesthetics of each particular time. There are also universal definitions of tastiness — and here, the challenge for a chef is to show off their skill in combining well-matched ingredients and in using temperature and cooking techniques to create a harmony of flavors free from dissonance. Yet even this continues to evolve with the times.

It is against this backdrop that the 40 restaurants recognized with this award to date have demonstrated high standards in meeting our criteria. As figures who symbolize and uphold local culture, these chefs also play a crucial role in reviving its lost elements. At the same time, Japanese chefs — unlike those in France, where farms, fisheries, processers, restaurants and accommodation providers function as part of an integrated whole — have to build a system from scratch, in a sense. They shoulder the weighty responsibility of revitalizing local cultures and economies with scant support from accommodation facilities and government bodies. My hope is that, through this award, we can commend their efforts and support regional Japan.

At the innovative inn Enowa in Yufuin, Oita Prefecture, the executive chef is Tashi Gyamtso, who hails from Tibet and served as sous-chef at Blue Hill at Stone Barns near New York City, the restaurant that introduced the world to the concept of “farm-to-table.” The dedication of both chef and owner is evident in the way Gyamtso tends his own field of vegetables and herbs, and in the way he began visiting local producers three years before opening to build relationships of trust with them. He is also a symbol of the growing prominence of non-Japanese chefs playing an active role in regional Japan.

At Mauvaise herbe, a French restaurant in the central part of Okinawa Prefecture’s main island, chef Keiji Ojima is a true artist. One can see the restaurant is filled solely with what he considers to be the best items, down to the tiniest objects. With dishes conjured almost entirely from ingredients harvested in Okinawa — the condiments being the sole exception — a meal here is a precious experience.

The Italian restaurant Ventinove in Gunma Prefecture’s Tone district offers meat dishes prepared in a wood-fired stove in the style of Dario Cecchini by a chef who was raised from childhood on wood-fired cooking. All the chefs selected for Destination Restaurants maintain strong ties to their surrounding area and are battling tenaciously, but their vision is still not fully reaching local people. As such, this award is significant as a means of communicating their messages to locals and people overseas alike.

Ispend half the year eating my way around the world and the other half trying out restaurants across Japan. Gunma Prefecture’s Ventinove is just one of the growing number of excellent restaurants springing up in areas that have not conventionally been associated with gourmet dining. Conversely, there are also regions that have long been blessed with outstanding ingredients, such as Matsusaka in Mie Prefecture. What makes this city’s Chinese restaurant Shibosai Kitagawa innovative is that while Matsusaka beef and Ise-ebi lobster are translated into even more appealing gems, the menu certainly does not lean on these brand-name ingredients alone. Even its vegetable-focused appetizers are sufficient to impress diners, showcasing owner-chef Yoshihiro Kitagawa’s outstanding skill. Ca’enne, advertising itself as a specialist in Italian wood-fired cuisine, is located near a cluster of vacation homes in the town of Tateshina near Chino, Nagano Prefecture. The restaurant makes full use of fermentation and preservation techniques, achieving an exquisite balance of dishes that will appeal to all. The significance of its location is explored in the menu’s offering of prosciutto-style ham that incorporates kōji mold from sake brewing into the traditional Italian curing process. Chisou Nishi Kenichi is a French restaurant opened by owner-chef Kenichi Nishi after moving from Hiroshima Prefecture to Yaizu in Shizuoka Prefecture, as he wished to use fish fresh from Sasue Maeda Fish Shop. Whereas fellow Destination Restaurants 2022 listee Chakaiseki Onjaku employs a traditionally Japanese approach in spotlighting fish sourced from Sasue Maeda, the appeal of this fishmonger’s produce finds expression in Western forms at Chisou Nishi Kenichi. Blazing a trail with agile approaches to the use of ingredients in order to enable the flower of gastronomy to bloom is where the true meaning of creating fine cuisine in Japan’s regions lies. Once again, the chefs selected this year demonstrate a powerful awareness of this fact.