ROBBIE SWINNERTON wrote . . . . . . . . .
Japan’s remarkable passion for France and its food continues unabated. Whether measured by the proliferation of Michelin-starred bistros here, the ubiquity of patisseries turning out flawless croissants and baguettes or any other metric, this is clearly much more than an infatuation. It has become a deep and serious love affair.
Even more remarkable is that this taste for French cuisine has also been taking firm root outside of major Japanese cities. These days, talented, creative independent chefs can be found across the country, sometimes in the most far-flung and unlikely of locations.
There are manifold reasons for this, such as better, faster transportation, greater disposable income, increasingly sophisticated palates and higher expectations for dining out when traveling. Add to this a boom in wine connoisseurship, a growing appreciation of regional produce, the viral spread of social media and the impact of gastronomic awards — not least the Japan Times’ annual Destination Restaurants series, now in its fourth year.
There’s another factor that plays an essential if less obvious role: the sheer number of young Japanese traveling to France to hone their culinary skills at the source — and then returning to put them into practice.
This rite of passage is now de rigeur for any serious would-be chef. But half a century ago, when Kazunari Otowa set off for Europe, he was stepping out on a limb as one of the very first of his generation to make that pilgrimage.
In all, Otowa spent seven years there, learning from the new wave of chefs who were pioneering nouvelle cuisine in the 1970s. Training first under Jacques Lacombe at the Lion d’Or in Geneva, he then worked under the renowned Alain Chapel at his eponymous, three-Michelin-starred restaurant in Mionnay, outside Lyon. Later, he joined Michel Guerard at Les Pres d’Eugenie (also three-starred) in Eugenie-les-Bains, southwest France.
For Otowa, this was a total immersion in the essentials of French cuisine, and its impact has remained with him to this day. But he says there was another equally fundamental lesson that he learned during his time abroad: the importance of staying true to his culinary roots.
“The restaurants where I trained were, of course, outstanding,” he explains. “But what impressed me just as much was the way the local people took pride in their communities — even though at first glance they seemed like sleepy country villages with little going for them.”
Staying close to regional roots
Otowa says that is what impelled him to return to his hometown, Utsunomiya — at that time in the early 1980s, it was about 90 minutes by train north of Tokyo (now it is just 50 minutes by shinkansen) — rather than to try to make it in Tokyo.
It might have felt counterintuitive to shun the bright lights of the capital in favor of a quiet, provincial city better known for its love of gyōza potsticker dumplings. But four decades down the line, Otowa is now the founder-patriarch of one of the best-regarded French restaurants in the country.
He started out in 1981 with a modest 30-seat bistro, simply named Auberge — French for “inn,” even though he did not offer accommodation. Serving ¥1,000 meals of pasta and doria (rice gratin), the kind of Western fare most people expected in those days, it was a far cry from the gleaming kitchens in which Otowa had trained. But those early years gave him a solid base in his community and the chance to connect with farmers and food producers.
From those early steps, Otowa gradually developed a cuisine rooted in local ingredients. He began serving dishes typical of French home cooking, opened a delicatessen and catered wedding parties, steadily introducing Utsunomiya to the basics of gastronomic fine dining.
His goal was to open a restaurant that reflected and even rivaled the cuisine of the great chefs of France. By 2007, he was ready — and so was his hometown.
Housed in a striking modern, free-standing property a short drive from the city center, Restaurant Otowa is sophisticated and elegant, yet calm and relaxed. Its light-filled dining room is large enough to hold 80 people for special functions, though it usually seats about 50.
From the entrance hall, you will be escorted along a curving passage with walls covered in signatures and messages from contented customers and visiting chefs, many of them from abroad. You will also pass a large window that looks right into the spacious and impressively spotless kitchen.
That is still where you are likely to find Otowa. Despite being in his late 70s, he remains spry and very much hands-on as owner-chef. These days, though, he has handed over the day-to-day helm to his elder son, Hajime, who followed in his father’s footsteps by training in France — including under the late Alain Chapel for two years — before returning to launch the restaurant.
Developing a local gastronomy
Together, the two generations continue to develop the menu, creating a cuisine that remains fresh and contemporary. At the same time, they take care to maintain the signature recipes that Otowa has served since the early days, particularly classic dishes featuring premium Tochigi wagyu or homard lobster.
One of the perennial specialties is ormeau en croute — Hokkaido abalone cooked in the Japanese way in a dashi stock and then baked in an ornate pastry crust. The crisp, golden pie is brought to the table for you to inspect first before being taken back to the kitchen to be plated.
Sliced open in half, the tender meat of the shellfish is surrounded by a layer of delicate seafood mousse enclosed in a sheet of nori seaweed that nestles inside the pastry. Served with a rich, savory beurre blanc sauce, it is also set against a black sauce prepared from the liver of the mollusk.
This is an absolute tour de force and not to be missed. It is also a superb illustration of the way Otowa incorporates quintessentially Japanese elements such as kombu-katsuobushi (cured bonito) dashi stock or ingredients such as abalone liver, which is rarely used in French cuisine due to its deep inherent bitterness.
Growing family values
In recent years, Otowa has become even more of a family concern. Hajime’s younger brother Sou — himself an accomplished chef who won a Michelin star in Tokyo — has come on board to bolster operations as restaurant manager.
They have also been joined by their sister, Kana, who oversees the front-of-house team and takes care of outside functions such as wedding banquets. She is also the first Japanese person to serve as a member of the executive committee of Relais & Chateaux, an exclusive organization of high-end hotels and restaurants. Meanwhile, Hajime’s wife, Asuka, plays a key role in the kitchen as a pastry chef.
As the founder and patriarch of this family-run restaurant, it must surely be tempting for Otowa to feel he has accomplished his goals, both professionally and personally, especially given his advancing years. But he is having none of that.
“We need at least three generations to complete all the things we are aiming to do,” he says.
It is this interweaving of superb cuisine, close-knit family values, deep regional roots and an undiminished drive to succeed that has elevated Restaurant Otowa to its lofty position. As a standard bearer for French cuisine in the hinterlands, it has placed Utsunomiya firmly on the map of high-end gastronomy in Japan.
Source: The Japan Times
Filed under: Food |
Cooking with Kathy Man 