Restaurant

Any dish is Japanese-style when it uses Japanese ingredients. Mori no Fuu takes this fact in stride and takes it a step further with its Japanese-style French cuisine. The meal is eaten with Japanese utensils and chopsticks, and the course comes with miso soup and a tea called ``Omaezaki Tsuyuhikari.'' The head chef, Koji Tsutsumi, is based on French cuisine, and has also learned Japanese, Chinese, and Vietnamese cuisine, which has a strong French influence, and freely combines them into his dishes.

As he says, ``I'm not particular about the genre, but I am particular about the ingredients,'' and he uses a lot of local ingredients. Local vegetables are necessarily freshly picked, and that freshness is what makes them delicious. We also strive to convey the new appeal of familiar ingredients. ``Mikatahara potatoes'' can also be prepared in an unexpected way to create a small surprise, making it a special treat for local customers.

``At a store like ours, you can do the work that you wouldn't do at a big store,'' says Tsutsumi. The secret ingredient in the dish in her main photo is homemade powder from Mikatahara Maitake mushrooms. The moment it's served piping hot in front of you, you can smell the aroma of mushrooms. This accent brings out the texture of the pie that wraps the Red Fuji Salmon. Locally grown fruits are also dried in the sun outside the store and made into powder to be used in cooking. Powder making is commonplace in the home of French cuisine, but if you're looking for efficiency, it can be a hassle.

A popular item sold at the store is the homemade jam butter made from Mikkabi Mikan. I received a request from the women's division of a nearby JA to teach them how to make it, and I'm holding a class there. He says he teaches about 20 people each time all the recipes he has devised. In a ``taste class'' for elementary school students in Hamamatsu City, students are asked to eat foods containing flavorings while holding their noses. Then, even the taste disappears. This is nothing but dietary education that does not let you be fooled by additives.

Tsutsumi's dishes are not only made with locally sourced ingredients, but also the amount of time he puts into preparing them. ``I just want to feel a sense of accomplishment,'' Tsutsumi says quietly. Her pursuit of her own small pleasures makes the people who visit happy.

The ``Taste Class'' for local elementary school students incorporates hands-on learning that allows students to actually taste the five tastes (sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and spicy) that are the basics of Japanese cuisine.

*From the article “Introducing the winners of The Worker of the Year 2021”