Premium chefs of Kumamoto

Prolougue

contents

• Story 1 Chef’s Story “KIJIYA: Unique flavors hidden in a back alley”
• Story 2 Story with Producers “Intertwined fates and mutual inspiration”
• Story 3 Premium Menu “A Premium Menu cooked on an iron griddle and enjoyed with all five senses”

Story 1 Chef’s Story

KIJIYA: Unique flavors hidden in a back alley

In a back alley of the main street in the Kumamoto city center lies KIJIYA. Although it advertises itself as a “teppanyaki and okonomiyaki” restaurant, it offers a variety of cuisines. The owner, Chef Eikou Ikeda, stands at the 20mm-thick iron griddle that is custom made for the restaurant. As he expertly cooks on the griddle, he looks so dynamic that even passersby in the alley are captivated. His style is spectacular, and his food freely combines different cuisines. Chef Ikeda is self-taught, and the skills he has acquired are on full display.

Chef Ikeda has been familiar with how a business is run ever since he was a child—he grew up seeing his parents run a historic bookshop in Shimotori, Sanyo Book Store. Naturally, he wished to own his own business someday, and his older brother also runs a boutique not far from KIJIYA. However, Chef Ikeda did not start his career training at restaurants. He actually started out as a hotel worker. Subsequently, he picked up the basics at an okonomiyaki shop and opened KIJIYA. On February 17, 2024, the restaurant celebrated its 10th anniversary.

Vegetables, meat, fish… Many ingredients are lined up on the iron griddle. Seeing him duet with Chef Daiki Nakano, his partner in the kitchen, is nothing short of wonderful. Guests are captivated by the sight of the two chefs grilling and steaming ingredients with precise timing, and as they are served plate after plate, they marvel at the flavors that are brought out. The counter seats feel like the front row of a live performance, and are invariably always full. This is what makes KIJIYA one of the most popular restaurants representing Kumamoto.

Today, many of the ingredients used at KIJIYA are produced with clean and safe farming practices, without artificial pesticides or fertilizers. “When I first opened the restaurants, I was conscious of using local ingredients produced in Kumamoto Prefecture. But when I discovered natural wines, I fell in love with them. So I switched to all-natural options for food and wine.” Inspired by his encounters with many chefs and producers, Chef Ikeda has developed a free approach.

The restaurant also offers an extensive collection of natural wines. “I just like them myself,” says Chef Ikeda, whose collection includes as many as a 1,000 bottles. Of course, they do not all fit into the restaurant, and some are stored in a rented container.

Even more surprising is the fact that Chef Ikeda is a producer as well. He is modest about it: “I just grow what I can use, nothing more…” But the vegetables in his well-tended kitchen garden, glistening in the morning sunlight, just like the ingredients on the iron griddle, reflect the love Chef Ikeda puts into his work.

He started his kitchen garden four years ago. During the pandemic, he had some free time, and he asked to use the garden of his wife Chiaki’s childhood home. He drove out to Gokase Town, Miyazaki Prefecture, and began his days of tending to the garden. At first, he used techniques to enhance carbon cycling. At some point, however, he noticed that the vegetables would grow on their own. Hence, he switched to cultivation methods that harness the power of the soil and the plants, without any unnecessary intervention.

Chef Ikeda’s garden is divided into winter and summer vegetables. On the day of our visit, the summer plants were barren after the harvest; just beside them, the winter plants were full of life. Later, Chef Ikeda would extract seeds from the harvested summer vegetables, plow the soil, and use them for the next season. In his garden, nothing goes to waste.

Growing vegetables can be challenging in itself, but Chef Ikeda is also traveling 60 km each way twice a week to tend to his garden. “I’m glad the highway has opened, so it’s a little closer,” he says, smiling: “In Kumamoto, there are many hand-grown delicious vegetables that I can buy whenever I want. But I wanted to grow some rare vegetables, and I like the detailed, repetitive work. I think it suits my personality. Of course, my wife’s help has been precious as well.” Chiaki Ikeda, who has been working at KIJIYA for six years, has been invaluable in maintaining Chef Ikeda’s distinctive style.

The bond between the couple fills the restaurant with a warm atmosphere. This is KIJIYA. It’s a story that puts a smile on your face.

Story 2 Story with Producers

Intertwined fates and mutual inspiration

As someone who grows his own vegetables, Chef Ikeda has an extraordinary respect for producers. Mr. and Mrs. Kato, whom he met five years ago in Kikukamachi, Yamaga City, are some of the producers who most inspire him. “Those two are really amazing. They don’t use pesticides or chemical fertilizers, and they always do things that surprise me, like sowing seeds straight into a field to grow rice.”

Takeshi and Naomi Kato are a married couple and have plots and fields in various areas. They moved here from Tokyo twenty years ago and started a new farm. Like Chef Ikeda, they worked in the hotel sector during their time in Tokyo. This common point was also a quirk of fate.

They select the vegetables to grow according to the soil and the environment and use natural faming practices. According to Naomi, “Plants can feel people. What we need right now grows naturally. When we eat it, we feel energized.” The couple treats farming like a dialogue with the soil and the plants. Just like their vegetables, their smiles are energizing.

“When I visit, she always whips up a meal, and it’s really delicious. I call her Chef Naomi.” The couple’s lifestyle seems to have captured Chef Ikeda’s stomach as well as his heart.

The vegetables of Kato farm are not sold on the market, and can only be tasted at restaurants that have partnered with the couple. These encounters with precious ingredients that remain widely unknown are an effect of Chef Ikeda’s constant curiosity.

There is another farming family whose fate was changed by the encounter with KIJIYA. It is that of Yuuki Masunaga, who raises “Gengo Kikuchi beef” in Shichijomachi, Kikuchi City. Chiaki found them online as she was looking for locally produced beef to use in the restaurant. “I immediately asked to go see the farm, and I visited the cattle barn for the first time.”

“Apparently, they’d just started an Instagram profile to promote the Gengo Kikuchi beef brand. They were surprised to receive a message, let alone a request to visit the farm!” Although the family had raised livestock for a long time, they had only just begun their branding efforts. Naoko Masunaga remembers the strong emotions she felt when she first started, looking for a way to move forward.

The Masunagas practice circular organic farming—they produce organic rice and Gengo Kikuchi beef fed on rice straw and flax feed. They use their cattle’s manure as fertilizer and enhance growth with organic farming techniques. Their care and commitment to this demanding work is rewarded when Chef Ikeda visits the farm, listens to their thoughts, and values their contribution. Their eyes get misty as they say, “We’re so grateful to have met him.”

The encounter with Toshihiro Kozuma, a carver active within and outside Japan, was yet another twist of fate—his daughter was classmates with one of the staff’s children. He handles tableware for KIJIYA, and recently, the restaurant has ordered some cutlery rests. “I wanted something that was the right size to hold all the cutlery used during the meal—fork, knife, spoon, and chopsticks—at the same time. The feel of the food changes depending on the tableware. Mr. Kozuma’s unique pieces are irreplaceable.”

“I’m interested in incorporating art into everyday life. So, when my daughter opened a café, I made the tableware. That’s how I began to receive orders from restaurants,” explains Mr. Kozuma. Most of the wood he uses is sourced locally from Kumamoto Prefecture. He buys a log, lets it dry out for a long time, and then cuts it down to the right size before finishing it with his knife.

“A while ago, I made a wooden spatula at the workshop, and I’m still using it at the restaurant. I liked silently carving it piece by piece,” says Chef Ikeda.

Using a machine, the wooden objects could be completed in an instant. Nevertheless, Mr. Kozuma uses a knife to finish his works. Meat and vegetables are no different—fate has brought together Chef Ikeda and many others who have put time, effort, and love into their crafts. “Going against the times” is a big point in common between Chef Ikeda and the producers. At KIJIYA, every bite of food is filled with memories of many different people. The Premium Menu cannot start soon enough.

Story 3 Premium Menu

The Premium Menu cooked on an iron griddle and enjoyed with all five senses

The Premium Menu is cooked on an iron griddle. The best seats are at the counter, where guests have a front row view of the live performance. The menu includes seven or eight dishes—starters, meat and fish courses, okonomiyaki, and dessert. Wine pairings can be ordered as well.

A glance at the cutlery reveals Mr. Kozuma’s cutlery resting gently on the counter. The hand-carvings create a beautiful look, showcasing the warmth of the wood and adding to the anticipation for the upcoming meal.

The first course is the garden salad starter, which perfectly encapsulates the style of KIJIYA. Many different vegetables from Chef Ikeda’s garden or the Kato farm are carefully plated using tweezers.

Small turnips that are unavailable on the market, pumpkin mousse, and a foam dressing made from vegetable scrap broth diluted with bitter orange are mixed with the vegetables to create a cohesive flavor.

Each section of the iron griddle in front of the guests can be set to a different temperature, such that the chef can count backward from the time of serving to cook vegetables, meat, and fish all at once. The sounds, heat, and scents of the ingredients on the iron griddle create a multitude of stimuli.

The fish is simply grilled skin-side; after repeated steaming, it is rested to slowly cook through. On the day of our visit, Japanese Spanish mackerel was garnished with Chef Ikeda’s black kale and served with squid ink powder, yuzu, and a sauce made from cauliflowers and peanuts from the Kato farm.

The restaurant’s regular menu includes Gengo Kikuchi beef round, but for the Premium Menu, a fillet is used.

Both sides are lightly seared, and as the meat rests, Kato farm green onions are grilled and finished by steaming.

The menu would not be complete without KIJIYA’s famous okonomiyaki. The okonomiyaki is a thing of beauty—as it is served straight from the griddle, its thickness is a sure sign of a soft and fluffy interior

A heaping portion of cabbage is mixed with Cohsin brand pork, finished with a signature sauce made from a blend of vegetable broth, fruit, soy sauce, and spices. The additive-free sauce takes two days to prepare, and a commercial version is reportedly in the works.

Measured with his words and not showing an ounce of effort, Chef Ikeda has the charisma of a performer. Discovering this hidden restaurant in a back alley and experiencing the iron griddle show, along with gourmet foods and natural wine pairings, is sure to create irreplaceable memories.