Overview

MADRID FUSIÓN 2005
III CUMBRE INTERNACIONAL DE GASTRONOMIA
18, 19, 20 Jan 2005
Palacio Municipal de Congresos
Campo de las Naciones, Madrid

La cocina Imperial Japnesa

Kunio Tokuoka, from Kitcho (Kyoto and Tokyo), is the perpetuator of a historic and revolutionary saga where Japanese cuisine is concerned, because his grandfather was the first Japanese cool to propose an “international Japanese cuisine”. These days it is now possible to enjoy updated Japanese Imperial Cuisine.

“I have received invitations from abroad and I have been asked to reproduce the special atmosphere that this restaurant has. But – says Kunio Tokuoka – it is a great shame that it is impossible turn the Kitcho restaurant into a ‘take away’”.
“Kitcho” is a very well-known Ryotei in Japan. Its founder, Teiichi Yuki, Tokuoka’s grandfather, apart from being an inimitable cook, was a great creator who, through cooking, oriented the Japanese culture, which is the crossroads between nature and human wisdom. He is also known as the pioneer in learning from the West and in promoting Japan, invariably including Japanese cooking in the whole context. Tokuoka express this philosophy, which the inherited from his grandfather and his father, in “the form that is required by our era”.

In a Ryotei (restaurant serving the best Japanese cuisine), the approximation to nature, the perspective of a garden that changes with the seasons, the slight steps that resunan en el tatami, the artistic crockery that features wide – open spaces… are all closely linked to the “flavour”. The appeal of Japanese cuisine dose not lie in the dish itself; in a Ryotei, the diners do not merely savor the recipes, but also the “air” that flows and the “time” that flows in this scenario.

Yuuji Wakiya creates an updated form of Chinese cuisine in Tokyo, not only modern because of the way in which the food is presented, served in the very latest western style, but also because of the use of the raw materials, in such a way that it could be said that we are faced with a revolutionary of Chinese cuisine in Japan. Yukio Hattori, a major figure in the world of Japanese gastronomy, runs a school of cookery that his grandfather established, and is regarded as a great celebrity on Japanese television, for which he makes informative programmes about cookery. Neither of them has anything in common with Kunio Tokuoka, who knows only too well that in the world of cooking the trend is towards innovation. And that is why he wants to specialize in a reappraisal of the traditional techniques. For example, miso, tofu and yuba, are all derivatives of soya, etc. Every single product has a host of varieties. Sesame can be turned into oil, spices, sauce and sometimes, into dishes that are remarkably similar to tofu. Each material can take on many forms, thanks to traditional Japanese techniques. In fact, every moment in Japanese culinary history is based upon innovation. The question in, what is to be done to prolong this tradition. Tokuoka says that he wishes to begin his own creation with a review of the history of Japanese cuisine. His menu for the summer of 2004 features “rast sea urchins with kobu (a type of alga)”. In Japan it is thought that the best way of consuming sea urchins is to eat them war. In spite of this, he places the sea urchins in rows on a layer of kobu and pours a soy-flavored bouillon over them. The layer of kobu is placed on the table in a portable oven and it is the diners themselves who roast them. To start with, they enjoy the flavor of the war sea urchins, them the sea urchins roasted over a slow fire, which gives them a sweeter flavor, and a smoother texture. Furthermore, the aroma of the kobu – which is what the sea urchins live on – makes them even tastier. What is so appealing about this recipe is “the soul of the flavor” which gradually changes as the sea urchins are roasted. Tokuoka gets his inspiration from the “Ya-kiuni” which he trip through the region that captures the most sea urchins in the whole of Japan.

“The important thing is to go back to the roots. That is to say, to have an in-depth working knowledge of the materials and to feel what the producers feel”, he says. Those who produces good and healthy war materials are the key to the cuisine. In fact, the current situation is difficult in Japan for honest farmers. Tokupka thinks that becoming the spokesman for the passion of the producers is the first step and one of the cooks.