Tokinokura's Restaurant

``Karin'' is a Japanese restaurant that has been focusing on ingredients produced in Shizuoka Prefecture since its early days and actively incorporating them. Yuji Hoshina, who has been the head chef since 2018, is also impressed by the fact that the restaurant has the widest variety of vegetables in Japan. He also cannot overlook the fact that ``the freshness is maintained because the production area is close.'' For example, the Orito eggplant in Shimizu, which Prince Ieyasu liked, is an eggplant from Ichifuji, Nitaka, and Sanko, but it is comparable in taste to Kamo eggplant from Kyoto. It's easy to use and doesn't get lost." The same effect is even more pronounced with leafy vegetables. He is grateful to be able to demonstrate his skills in a land rich in food ingredients, and has a strong desire to "work even harder to produce locally for local consumption."

Mr. Hoshina is always calm, but he is more motivated than most to take on new challenges. One example of this is the creation of a ``delicious healthy menu'' by sharing wisdom with a registered dietitian from the Seirei Welfare Corporation. Regardless of whether it is prepared as a course that includes sashimi, fried food, rice, soup, or sweets, the bento is low in calories (646kcal), high in protein (33.1g), and low in salt (2.9g). On the other hand, he has taught children how to make California rolls at the children's creative town "Ma-a-ru" in Shimizu Ward, Shizuoka City, and tamagoyaki (tamagoyaki) at the "WAZA Challenge" in Shizuoka Prefecture. The driving force behind his activities is his desire to "get people more interested in Japanese food."

When you take a break from working in the kitchen to visit the restaurant, some people will smile and say, ``I'm a fan of Chef Hoshina.'' Japanese cuisine begins with the selection of ingredients, and brings out the richness of their unique flavors by making slight adjustments without sacrificing the aroma or color of each ingredient. ``More than anything, it all depends on the hard work of all the producers,'' he says, looking forward, ``In the future, I would like to have more opportunities to interact with the production areas.'' Hoshina's path to Japanese cuisine continues in Fuji no Kuni.

Mr. Hoshina teaches elementary school students how to make California rolls.

*From the introduction article of “Introducing the Worker of the Year 2022 Award Winners”