Villa Aida pairs with Veuve Clicquot on seasonal events

Villa Aida, winner of the Destination Restaurant of the Year 2022 award, has in recent years been collaborating in projects with the beverage giant Moet Hennessy Diageo, one of the partners of the award.

Located in Wakayama Prefecture a half-hour drive from Kansai International Airport, Villa Aida stands out as uniquely committed to serving the finest ingredients at their seasonal best, prepared in the most fitting way from the moment they are brought into the kitchen.

In a recent interview with The Japan Times, chef and owner Kanji Kobayashi said he not only uses local ingredients but also cultivates vegetables, fruits and herbs in his own gardens. He leverages seasonal variations and the advantage of constant proximity to these fresh ingredients to create dishes that can only exist once. “Even within the same season, a vegetable picked today will taste different from the same vegetable picked yesterday due to subtle changes in weather and temperature,” he said. “Naturally, I cook each vegetable differently based on its daily variations, creating a singular experience.”

He explained that growing his own vegetables allows him to utilize parts that are not usually distributed by supermarkets, such as the outer leaves of cabbages and spinach and the flowers of Japanese radishes, which are surprisingly tasty and complement other seasonal ingredients.

Kobayashi said cuisine and wine are similar in their pursuit of a unique feeling in the moment and in their expression of the charms of the land. This is the guiding philosophy of the collaboration between Kobayashi and Moet Hennessy Diageo.

The most recent example of such collaboration was Kobayashi’s participation in the April event presenting Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame 2018 in Paris. He was one of 11 chefs from around the world invited to the event to create a special dinner using diverse seasonal ingredients that harmonized perfectly with the wine. “I enjoyed the exchanges with chefs from various countries, including France, America, Switzerland and Britain, as well as the invited guests,” he said.

The first such collaboration was a garden gastronomy event held in Hokkaido in July 2022, featuring Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame Rosé 2012. Kobayashi and Moet Hennessy Diageo have since adopted this concept for other projects, including lunch and dinner events in Tokyo Midtown Hibiya, Karuizawa in Nagano Prefecture, and Wakayama. “It’s an inspiring experience to use locally sourced ingredients and create menus based on a different theme for each new event,” Kobayashi said. “I hope we can continue to offer the joy of unique flavors and the culture of various regions to people in Japan and abroad.”