My Ugly Delicious Journey: Take 2
Welcome Back!
Hello medium it has been a while… About 2 years or so? Since the last post and a promise for a series of ugly delicious stories, I have moved out of my tiny establishment in Bungotakada, Oita, and traded the quiet onsen life with the bright lights of Tokyo (That is an explanation for another time… :). My work turned from being in the kitchen and cooking 70% of the time to 0%…and I missed it.
I missed the excitement of connection when new people walk into your shop… I miss the electrifying process of experimenting with food and flavours. The part that I missed the most was learning about culture and history while eating absolutely delicious food.
That is why, despite these life changes, I have tried to not lose touch with the electrifying joy I feel when I am in the kitchen. It also helps keep the wealth of experience I absorbed during my time in Bungo alive and evolving.
One key lesson over the past 5 years is that the path to innovation and sustainably minded food is a combination of the following three factors:
Seasonal ingredients: self explanitory
Locally sourced produce: self explanitory
Source of knowledge: person/ people with a wealth of knowledge and diverse training in the culinary arts who are open-minded about experimenting with food.
After almost a year away from the kitchen, I was craving this creative energy of innovation, and this sense of being in touch with nature's seasonality through the food you eat. That brought me to a couple of months ago, I came across ELAB, a zero-waste deli/ circular living lab in the heart of Kuramae, the centre for craftsmanship in Tokyo.
I started to volunteer on weekends when I had the time to help out with their “Seasonal Tasks. 季節仕事.” Doing tasks that included peeling the skin off of beans, and stems off of plums and then cooking them in a manner fit for a deli menu. Being there ticked off all the three factors that are needed for sustainably-minded food innovation:
Seasonal ingredients: ELAB is rooted in circular thinking, which means really tapping into nature's seasonal ingredients to use and educate their customers. They have partnered up with farmers who share these values.
Local sourcing: The farmers Elab have partnered with are mostly from within the Tokyo metropolitan zone. They understand the cost of transport when it comes to sourcing ingredients and have strategically partnered with the likes of Ome farm, and Hasune farm to procure their produce.
Source of Knowledge: Meet Tae-san, Momo-san, and Takako-san who are at the core team of a special sustainably minded community in Kuramae. They value co-creation, and knowledge sharing with the larger community and implement their values and learnings through their food. In terms of culinary experience, from within the community there are experienced chefs, fermentation experts, and novice food enthusiasts (that is definitely me ) all actively contributing to the wealth of culinary knowledge at ELAB
The Rooted Palate
This experience inspired me to upgrade the ugly delicious series that I feebly started two years ago… to be rebranded as ROOTED PALATE ™︎!
This updated series will include
- Innovative recipes that are conscious of seasonality and locality.
- Explorations around Why/ How do food culture and traditional knowledge integrate into circular design and food systems.
- Explorations of the culturally rooted significance of the dish.
or an element or so of the above three drawing from my current experience with ELAB, as well as drawing back to my time at Yumemusubi with Tomyo-san, and Chiemi-san (the source of knowledge during my time in Oita), and any new stories & recipes I come across in my food journey.
I have a couple of adventures lined up which I am excited to share…
So Stay tuned! and see you in the next post! :)
PS: I'm still trying to find my voice in this style of writing. Any feedback is welcome! 🙂
