I was born and raised in a temple in the countryside of Saga in Kyushu, Japan, and I lived there until I left at the age of 18 to go to University.
Because I lived in the country, we would often play outside. We would go fishing, climbing trees, and catching insects. And for our snacks, we pulled the fruits from the tree to eat. All of our playing was in contact with nature.
It was plain, and yet now I think what a very luxurious environment it was for a child.
Our meals at home were all heartfelt. My grandmother and my aunt cooked every meal, and they always worked hard with the local, seasonal ingredients. I remember our fish meals were particularly awesome.
It was natural for me to start helping them to cook the meals, because I had been watching them cook ever since I was born.
My present cooking style takes inspiration from this home-cooked meal tradition.
I use the flavours and cooking methods from these home-cooked meals, while always valuing the local and seasonal ingredients.
My upbringing, at a temple in the countryside, with a culture rich in traditional home cooking using the best local produce, has greatly influenced my present thinking in terms of the dishes I create and the style of restaurant I run.
I find it fun to use signature ingredients of New Zealand, and put them through a filter of Japanese tradition and my own childhood.
‘Memories Shared, Meals Shared’ | Ōra King Awards Lunch
The dish I chose to create for the Ōra King “Memories Shared, Meals Shared” Lunch was a sashimi & sushi Ōra King with seafood selection using local New Zealand seafood.
I wanted to make this dish as it reminds me of the seafood meals we would eat growing up.
This dish takes a long time to prepare because I always like to take good care of my ingredients. I contemplate how I can bring out the best of my ingredients before I create dishes. I also always want to present Japanese culture in my dishes.
One of the most important aspects of ‘Washoku’ (Japanese cuisine), is to express nature, and the natural beauty of Japan in the display of food.
When plating a sashimi dish, I imagine the mountains in the Northern Alps of Japan. The sharp cut edges of each piece of sashimi become important, as these edges are placed upwards, just like those mountain edges.
For the lunch I also wanted to make my signature dish of “Hizunamasu”.
“Hizunamasu” is a traditional Hokkaido dish using the salmon head cartilage. Normally this part of the salmon is thrown away. It is important to me though to use every part of the salmon, and don’t let any of it go to waste.
I give a unique taste to this traditional dish and add Yuzu (Japanese citron) which gives it a Japanese aroma, then garnish it with the Ōra King salmon roe.
Having superb ingredients that will give me great results however I cook them, motivates me in my cooking. I would like to thank the people, and New Zealand’s nature, who nurture this fantastic product, Ōra King.
My philosophy towards food and life would be that I have passion and thanks in my heart; today is better than yesterday, tomorrow will be better than today. I want to be devoted every day.
Makoto Tokuyama.
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