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”

Koji Tsutsumi of Mori no Fuu uses plenty of ingredients from Shizuoka Prefecture and serves Japanese-style French cuisine with Japanese tableware and chopsticks. He says that the influence of Vietnamese cuisine, which combines French cooking techniques with local cuisine, is behind his unconventional ideas, such as serving miso soup with a course meal. He values ​​the rich flavor that can only be experienced with freshly picked local ingredients, and when serving the food, he conveys the characteristics of the ingredients and the thoughts of the producers. This enhances the flavor of each dish. He does not use chemical seasonings, and is committed to making bread, ice cream, and pickles as much as possible in-house, because he wants to "make food that is gentle on the body and safe to eat." His work as a chef is not limited to the restaurant. He teaches at a cooking school in Hamamatsu City, conveying the appeal of local ingredients, and arranges winning entries from a "school lunch contest for high school students" and serves them as lunch menu items. "Of course, it is important for me to let people know about Shizuoka's rich ingredients, but it is also important for me to increase the number of chefs of the next generation," he says with a smile. Tsutsumi connects people with food in various places. Their free-thinking and passion continue to bring the blessings of Shizuoka to more people today.

The main dish of the Fuu course is stewed beef cheeks.

We carefully stew precious parts that are not often distributed on the market,

Served with mashed potatoes made from Mikatahara potatoes and vegetables from local farmers.

Grilled umeiro with almond butter.

Served with a chowder-like sauce made with oysters from Lake Hamana.

Pickles made from discarded young melons and cucumbers.

Available in stores and shopping centers.

※Interview with the winner of The Worker of the Year 2024 (2024 edition)