fresh Japanese produce. This is not French or Japanese, this is “Narisawa cuisine”. Narisawa himself defines his style as “innovative Satoyama cuisine”.
ences of the area that permeate the food at NARISAWA. The timeless validity is the inspiration and raison d’etre of the restaurant’s alluring menu.
As Japan is a highly mountainous group of islands, the sea and the mountains are never too far from the cities, with forests covering approximately 67% of the country. The term “Satoyama Scenery” refers to this landscape – a unique place between the sea and the mountains where people and nature live together. Satoyama contains a mosaic of mixed forests, rice paddy fields, dry rice fields, grasslands, streams and ponds. Farmers use the grasslands to feed horses and cattle. Streams and ponds play an important role in adjusting water levels of paddy fields and farming fish as a food source.
The elegant tasting menu – consisting of about a dozen intricate dishes – is finessed to new heights in taste and texture, with each course bringing a new experience.
This sense of place is expressed not only in the locality of the products used, but through the spirit and cultural influ-
Themes of soil, water, fire, charcoal and forest permeate the menu to reflect Narisawa’s bringing of nature to the
Volume 30 | Summer / Autumn 2018
From freshly foraged fare to seasonal delicacies, diners can expect a mouth-watering adventure unlike any other, one that draws inspiration from all four corners of Japan. Building on Satoyama’s rich culinary culture, Chef Narisawa sources vegetables from sustainable farms, searches for organic products and uses as much of each ingredient as is possible.