A food buyer from Isetan Mitsukoshi and Ishikawa Agricultural Support Organization (INATO), food professionals and guides who are experts on Noto, team up to take gourmets on a Satoyama Satoumi Food Tour.
This is the third installment of "Noto ETravel," a Noto travelogue that accompanies the tour and experiences the generous Satoyama Satoumi, and the lifestyle and food culture that arises from them.
Noto ingredients have attracted the attention of chefs both in Japan and abroad. Yoshihisa Akiyama, the head chef of Mutsukari, a Japanese restaurant in Ginza that is always fully booked and difficult to get reservations for, is one person who has fallen in love with Noto. Having visited various food-producing regions, what is it about Noto that appeals to Akiyama?
"The seafood caught in the Sea of Japan, where warm and cold currents collide, and being located in the center of the Japanese archipelago means that a wide variety of vegetables grow at the northern and southern limits of agricultural produce. Satoumi offers rare seaweed and salt made using traditional techniques, while satoyama offers mushrooms and wild vegetables. The appeal of Noto lies in the opportunity to encounter such wonderful ingredients," says Akiyama.
In addition to the ingredients nurtured by the region's rich natural environment, he is also fascinated by the producers who continue to pass on Noto's food and culture. "Many producers are passionate about creating delicious food and delivering new value! My job is to 'connect the relay of life' by turning the ingredients, which are imbued with the passion of these people, into a dish that our customers will enjoy."
Akiyama, who accompanied the Satoyama Satoumi Food Tour, hosted a special dinner party using Noto ingredients for the tour participants. The one-night-only special dinner, set at the old folk gallery Funa Asobi, includes a menu that fully captures the flavors of Noto, including warm butternut squash soup, seasonal vegetable jelly, gargouille-style vegetables and sake-steamed blackthroat seaperch, Ogi squid rice and Noto beef bowl, and for dessert, sake lees and salt macaroons.
Akiyama, a master of shojin cuisine, has used plenty of vegetables in this course, including vegetables harvested at Taka Farm on Noto Island. "Taka Farm's vegetables are popular at Mutsukari. This time, we're proposing dishes that make generous use of these vegetables. We've also created an elaborate Satoyama Satoumi dinner with miso and soy sauce from Tanigawa Brewery, Agehama-style salt, sake lees from Kazuma Sake Brewery, and fragrant squid rice cooked with Noto wine."
The elaborate dishes are served in beautiful tableware, including Wajima lacquerware bowls and trays from Tsutaya Gallery, and glassware and Suzu ware from Fune Asobi. The dishes are also paired with sake from Kazuma Sake Brewery.
And the special feeling of having Akiyama take the lead in serving the food thrilled the gourmets. "I enjoy cooking with Noto ingredients, and my customers enjoy eating them too. I would be happy if the food and flavors of Noto become memorable."
He traveled to the production areas of ingredients and crafts, and spoke directly with producers in the fields and factories. It was the beauty and richness of Noto's Satoyama and Satoumi that left such a strong impression on him. Although he was only able to introduce a small part of it, the Noto Peninsula is still packed with delicious food, and there is no end to the Noto E Travel.
Interview cooperation:
Mutsukari http://www.mutsukari.com
Gallery Funa Asobi http://f-asobi.com/
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