Tokinokura's Restaurant

``I like Toyooka here,'' Kosuke Fukada of ``Nakaya'' says with a laugh. I love my hometown, so I use local ingredients as much as possible for each dish. Even in his main photo, ``deep-fried shrimp and sweet potatoes'', the shrimp and white onions are from Toyooka, Iwata City, and the rape blossoms are from the land of Inasa, Hamamatsu City. What's more, he is so passionate about preparing food even on his holidays, ``because he loves cooking,'' that he improvises things like the ``hanami sake appetizer'' in the sub-photo. Mr. Fukada studied at a vocational school in Osaka and trained at Onjaku in Yaizu and Wakuden in Kyoto. He says that because he left his hometown, he realized once again how irreplaceable this place is to him. It is not hard to imagine that this realization paved the way for ``seasonal, local Japanese cuisine.''

The focus on food education activities is a result of hometown love. He is actively holding experiential courses on the theme of Japanese food culture for local kindergarteners, elementary, junior high and high school students, and adults. You can actually make the soup stock and enjoy its flavor together. Make osechi dishes and ozoni together and eat them together. What I want to convey is, ``You all live in such a wonderful place.'' ``Food education is my duty as a chef, and it is my life's work,'' he says emphatically.

His activities as the representative secretary of the "Toyooka Light Truck City" cannot be overlooked. Although they are currently refraining from attending due to the coronavirus pandemic, they have been working together with about 20 volunteers every summer to gather dozens of kitchen trucks from inside and outside the prefecture and hold night market events. We want not only the people who visit, but also the friends who live here, to learn more about the charm of Toyooka and fall in love with it even more. Mr. Fukada continues to be quietly passionate about his own cooking, local food education, and events. What we want to create is ``Toyooka's future happiness.''

``Ohanami Sake Sake Kuchitori'' where almost all the ingredients are locally produced. The accents include red daikon radish, which turns bright red when vinegar is added, and cherry blossoms blooming in the store's front garden.

The hands-on nutrition education classes are also very active. The purpose is to convey the food culture cultivated in Japan and foster pride and attachment to one's hometown.

*From the article “Introducing the Worker of the Year 2021 Award Winners”