Happiness as a chef is to make someone happy through your work.

Just about a month before this interview, an ``incident'' that could be described as a bolt from the blue occurred to Chef Hiroyasu Kawate, who heads the popular Jingumae restaurant ``Florerege.'' He accidentally broke his left ankle. At the time of his interview and at the awards ceremony for Asia's 50 Best Restaurants held immediately afterwards, Kawate appeared in a painful cast and many people expressed concern, but his smile remained the same. He was alive and well.

“I was taken to the hospital by ambulance, and from there I had surgery and was hospitalized for almost a month. You have no idea how happy I am right now. With my help, I was able to work in the kitchen (even though my doctor had stopped me from doing so). It was the first time I had been away from cooking for such a long time."

Strictly speaking, for Chef Kawate, happiness is not ``cooking.'' ``The satisfaction you get when you see someone else feel happy because of your cooking is probably the greatest luxury a chef can have,'' he says. As proof of this, he playfully confessed, ``What if you were stranded alone on a deserted island? Even if there were a lot of wonderful ingredients there, you wouldn't cook something that no one would eat.''

What role am I in charge of food diversity?

Florilege's U-shaped counter is always full of guests wanting to sample Kawate's cuisine. His cooking brings happiness to these fans, but in reality, there are many other people who are also enjoying ``Kawate Happiness.'' However, this is not widely known. For example, food producers. Although his popularity has remained stable since he branched out from his famous restaurant Quintessence and opened his own restaurant, the ingredients used at his restaurant have changed considerably since the beginning.

“If you think deliciousness is the answer, then you can make it the way you like using imported ingredients and high-quality ingredients.However, now the mission of a chef is not only to pursue deliciousness. The question we are being asked is, what kind of social contribution can we make through cooking, whether it's to the times, the world, the environment, education, or food loss?"

Kawate, who pursues dishes with more meaning and significance, has developed products such as multiparous cows (female cows that have given birth), which have been considered to have low market value, and Amazonian cacao, which is continued to be carefully cultivated by indigenous people in the interior of South America. The reason for using so many ingredients is to help the eater learn about the world through the medium of food. In addition, based on the idea that the origin of food is the cooking that is shared with the family, he has been teaching cooking seminars for housewives at the Seibu Department Store Culture Center in Ikebukuro for 10 years. Many housewives happily report that they have made the French home cooking they learned from Kawate at home, without knowing that the chef, who has won numerous restaurant awards, was a lecturer.

“I like the word “diversity.” If I were to put it in my own way, the word “in charge” would be a good fit. Even chefs are truly diverse, and there are those who continue to express themselves with avant-garde cuisine that is truly outstanding. There are some people who continue to fight alone, aiming only for the top.Then, what about me?I don't have an answer yet, but the various things I'm doing now are connected, and I'm gradually figuring out what I'm in charge of. I think it will become clear by now."

Hiroyasu Kawate

Born in Tokyo in 1978. After graduating from high school, he worked at a restaurant in Tokyo, then moved to Le Bourguignon in Nishi-Azabu. After working as a sous chef, he moved to France, and after returning to Japan, he worked as a sous chef at Quintessence, which was located in Shirokanedai at the time. In 2009, he became independent and opened "Florerege" in Aoyama. In 2015, it moved to Jingumae, where it remains today.

Florilège　

SEIZAN Gaien B1, XNUMX-XNUMX-XNUMX Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo

03-6440-0878

12:00~13:30 (LO)

18:30~20:00 (LO)

Irregular

Lunch around 7,500 items XNUMX yen

Dinner 11 dishes 15,000 yen

*Tax and service charge not included

Premium X A new generation of chefs promoting Japanese food for the future

The Japanese food and beverage industry is dominated by excellent restaurants, including not only Japanese cuisine but also French, Italian, and Chinese cuisine. However, if you look deeper than that, you will see that a new generation has sprouted that will carry the future of Japan's food on their shoulders, and they are showing remarkable success. The "Premium Japan" editorial department selected 12 chefs who face food beyond all boundaries. I asked him what vector he was aiming for.

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