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Japanese Show What It Takes To Dazzle the Culinary Judges
Ichiro Ozaki spices fish at his 16-seat restaurant, which in November was awarded one star in the celebrated Michelin Guide's first-ever Tokyo edition.
(By Blaine Harden -- The Washington Post)
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Besides snapping turtles and a dozen crabs, he bought conger eels, blowfish, octopus, abalone, anglerfish, cod testicles, tuna and several kinds of shrimp for the meals he would begin serving in about 10 hours.
Ozaki, 38, the son of a sushi chef, spent 17 years as an apprentice and sous-chef in fish restaurants in and around Tokyo. In the first four years of his apprenticeship, he only chopped vegetables. He said he was never allowed to touch a fish that might be served to a customer. He then spent three years working on sushi techniques.
He opened his own restaurant two years ago and operates it with the help of two apprentices and a waitress. With seats for only 16 diners, it serves sushi and high-end Japanese fish dishes.
At work, Ozaki wears traditional wooden sandals, an impeccably pressed white gown and a spotless chef's hat.
To sharpen his senses, he always cooks and prepares sushi on an empty stomach.
Not long ago, a customer called him a samurai, a description that tickled Ozaki. Samurai were the honor-driven warrior class of preindustrial Japan.
"It is artsy obsession that I have," Ozaki said on the way back from the fish market to his restaurant. "I have chosen to compete against the best restaurants in Tokyo. For me there is no turning back."
'The Samurai Spirit'
The notion of self-sacrifice for the sake of exquisite food seems to suit many Tokyo chefs, even when they devote their lives to cuisine no samurai would have recognized.
Three of the eight Tokyo restaurants that won three-star status, Michelin's highest honor, serve French cuisine; the five others are Japanese. Chefs here also won stars for cooking Italian, Spanish, Chinese and steakhouse food.
At Le Mange-Tout, one of the 25 restaurants in the city to win two Michelin stars, owner-chef Noboru Tani goes home to his family only one night a week. He cheerfully describes his restaurant as a "prison." He sleeps in a loft above the dining room.
"The samurai spirit is in me," said Tani, 55. "The Japanese character is that we pursue one thing earnestly and with great diligence. For me, that object of diligence happens to be France."
Since he was 18, he said, he has devoted himself to the study of French culture, history, wine and cuisine.
