Chef Yoshihiro Narisawa – Born to Make a Difference

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One thing that is very remarkable about Chef Yoshihiro Narisawa is the fact that he is one among the very few who left Japan to study culinary in a foreign land and then came back after his education. There are many young chefs who pursue their culinary careers in foreign lands, but Chef Narisawa wanted to make a difference in his country – and made a difference he did as his restaurant, Les Creations was included in the top 50 best restaurants of the world of S. Pellegrino.

Chef Narisawa was born on the 11th of April 1969 and grew up in the Aichi region. Ever since he was a child, he has always wanted to become a chef. His passion for food and the culinary world came from his father and his grandfather. His father manages a western sweets shop, while his grandfather manages a traditional Japanese sweets shop, and it was their kitchen that became his playground when he was a child. Food preparation, choosing the ingredients, the aroma of the dishes – they have always fascinated him and strengthened his resolve to become a chef, and the one cuisine that he wanted to master was traditional French cuisine.

With eagerness to learn and drive to succeed, Chef Narisawa went to Europe when he was 19 years old and worked for some of the most renowned chefs in the country. He trained under and became an apprentice of Joel Robuchon as well as of Paul Bocuse, and he has also trained under Fredy Girardet.

Nine years after he left Japan to study and become apprentice to world-famous chefs, he came back to the country to open his own restaurant. His first restaurant, Le Napoule, was located in Odawara, which is in the Kanagawa region. He and his wife stayed there to manage the restaurant for seven years, after which, they moved to Tokyo. In Tokyo, Chef Narisawa launched Les Creations de Narisawa.

Pretty soon, his culinary skill and restaurant began attracting people and food critics. In 2008, his restaurant received its first Michelin star and was also the only restaurant in Japan that got in the top 50 list of S. Pellegrino’s best restaurants of the world. These are just some of the awards that Chef Narisawa and Les Creations received.

Chef Narisawa’s cuisine is best known for reinventing the traditional French dishes into something new and exciting. His unconventional approach to French cooking as well as his creative techniques in plating his dishes has earned him the respect and deference of many food critics. His inspiration came from the land, and making use of only the freshest ingredients and produce, he recreates his dishes into exciting landscapes that burst with exotic flavors and intrigue the palate with its interesting textures. It can be said that Chef Narisawa’s cuisine is haiku on plate.

Chef Yoshihiro Narisawa’s Landscape of February Satoyama

Ingredients:

Chicken Essence:

1 whole chicken (2 kilograms), cut into pieces
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
1 tomato, roughly chopped
1 leek, roughly chopped
2 liters water

White Miso Flan:

60 grams shiro miso (white soy bean paste)
30 cc cream (using a syringe)
1 egg

Root Vegetables:

1 Satoimo potato (Aroid)
1 Yamaimo yam
1 Ichouimo potato
1 Chinese yam
Truffles
Kuzu (Japanese arrowroot) powder

Buckwheat Risotto:

Soba (buckwheat) whole grains
Butter
Minced fukinoto stalk
Shallots
Ground white pepper
Kuzu powder

Turnip Snow:

180 grams finely grated turnip
30 grams egg white
Salt

Directions:

For the Chicken Essence: Put all the ingredients in a large pot and cook for 4 hours in a steam convection oven at 100°C/212°F. Remove from the oven and place the pot on a burner; reduce the liquid to 1 liter and strain through a chinoise. Reserve for use in the remaining components.

For the White Miso Flan: Combine all the ingredients, plus 140 cc chicken essence. Pour 25 cc of the flan mixture into 4 bowls; steam for 15 to 20 minutes in a steam convection oven at 100°C/212°F.

For the Root Vegetables: Put the root vegetables in a pot with just enough chicken essence to cover them and bring to a boil. When the vegetables are soft, remove the pot from the heat and thicken the broth with the kuzu powder.

For the Buckwheat Risotto: Cook the buckwheat as though making a risotto: sauté with butter, fukinoto stem and shallots, and add chicken essence as needed until the buckwheat is soft. Season with the white pepper and thicken as desired with the kuzu powder.

For the Turnip Snow: Combine the turnip, egg white, and salt. The mixture will be very wet (this is desired).

To Assemble and Serve: Place the flan in a serving bowl and spoon 1 tablespoon of root vegetable mixture over top. Cover with buckwheat risotto and spoon the turnip onto the risotto as if it is snow on the ground—leaving patches of “earth” (risotto) uncovered. Put the bowl in a steam convection oven to quickly warm it; right before serving, garnish with a tempura-fried fukinoto flower.

Yield: Makes 4.

Image Credit: madridfusion.net

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