Hanagaki
Nara | 2 Michelin stars (12 years running)
Even first-grade wild kombu isn’t enough
Self-taught over thirty years, he runs the kitchen on his own. Dashi, sourcing, tableware: when an ingredient falls short of the ideal, what does he choose, and what does he let go? He walks through it in the order he decides.
Taught by: Toshihiko Furuta (Owner-chef)
“This service gets to the heart of things. But I think most people will take a while to understand how important it is.”
Questions this series answers
- How to make dashi: Even with four kinds of top-grade kombu and four of katsuobushi, he makes a dashi he’s truly satisfied with only a few times a year. Where does the difference come from? He shows the true source of dashi, which is neither the kombu nor the katsuobushi, and how he makes it.
- How to choose tableware: Do you choose the vessel to suit the food, or does the vessel come first? An owner-chef who is also an antiques dealer explains, with pieces by Rosanjin in front of him, what he looks for in a vessel and how he pairs it with food.
- How to judge a “good” ingredient: “This has no flavor,” someone says, but no one ever teaches you what to look for. At the moment of buying, what does a two-star owner-chef look at, and what does he ignore?