Sustainable Gastronomy
Yoshihiro Narisawa’s manifesto on cuisine in harmony with the natural world
Award-winning Japanese chef Yoshihiro Narisawa has turned to his homeland and nature to develop his innovative satoyama cuisine and culinary philosophy. Inspired by the Japanese tradition of foraging for ingredients on the land between mountains and villages, the area of satoyama, and by similar traditional methods for gathering food, Narisawa has created recipes and dining experiences based on the sustainable use of native ingredients.
Also using foodstuffs from coastal waters and forests, from seaweed and sea snakes to wild flowers and even soil, the recipes are presented and shown in stunning photographs by world-renowned Brazilian food photographer Sergio Coimbra. But this is more than a book of recipes, it is a new kind of gastronomy book that explores the background of where the ingredients are sourced and also how the chef works with the craftsmen who makes his knives and tableware. This attention to every stage of the supply chain is another aspect of satoyama, and in the course of the journeys Narisawa and Coimbra made the book has also become a visual travel guide to Japan and its history and traditions. In this way it is not just the chef’s creations that are presented, but the food in its full context, including the processes involved, and a culinary perspective that combines tradition with modern ideas.
Collector’s Edition of 1,000 copies, each signed by Yoshihiro Narisawa and Sergio Coimbra.
Yoshihiro Narisawa’s manifesto on cuisine in harmony with the natural world
Award-winning Japanese chef Yoshihiro Narisawa has turned to his homeland and nature to develop his innovative satoyama cuisine and culinary philosophy. Inspired by the Japanese tradition of foraging for ingredients on the land between mountains and villages, the area of satoyama, and by similar traditional methods for gathering food, Narisawa has created recipes and dining experiences based on the sustainable use of native ingredients.
Also using foodstuffs from coastal waters and forests, from seaweed and sea snakes to wild flowers and even soil, the recipes are presented and shown in stunning photographs by world-renowned Brazilian food photographer Sergio Coimbra. But this is more than a book of recipes, it is a new kind of gastronomy book that explores the background of where the ingredients are sourced and also how the chef works with the craftsmen who makes his knives and tableware. This attention to every stage of the supply chain is another aspect of satoyama, and in the course of the journeys Narisawa and Coimbra made the book has also become a visual travel guide to Japan and its history and traditions. In this way it is not just the chef’s creations that are presented, but the food in its full context, including the processes involved, and a culinary perspective that combines tradition with modern ideas.
Collector’s Edition of 1,000 copies, each signed by Yoshihiro Narisawa and Sergio Coimbra.
The artist
Yoshihiro Narisawa, born in Aichi prefecture in 1969 as the son of a baker of western recipes, moved to Europe at the age of 19 where he trained in France, Switzerland, and Italy, before returning to his homeland. Narisawa opened his first restaurant in Kanagawa in 1996, moving to Tokyo in 2003. After pursuing a connection with French cuisine, Narisawa went on to develop his “Satoyama” style. His restaurant has been listed for many years as one of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants and has achieved worldwide recognition.
The photographer
After 25 years in the coffee business, Sergio Coimbra became the world’s leading culinary photographer, working with names such as Massimo Bottura and Heston Blumenthal. He studied photography in New York before opening Studio SC in São Paulo. Since then, he has worked on award-winning publications such as Chocolat (2016) with Pierre Herme, Fluiditá with Massimiliano and Rafaelle Alajmo (2013), and with Spanish chef Quique DaCosta (2015). He has exhibited at the Basque Culinary Center and at the Japan House in Los Angeles among many other places. Coimbra is an avid collector of unique dishware, ranging from Chinese ceramic to modern Nordic pieces. He is the winner of the Grand Prix de la Photographie du Tourisme Gastronomique in Paris in 2011.
Yoshihiro Narisawa, born in Aichi prefecture in 1969 as the son of a baker of western recipes, moved to Europe at the age of 19 where he trained in France, Switzerland, and Italy, before returning to his homeland. Narisawa opened his first restaurant in Kanagawa in 1996, moving to Tokyo in 2003. After pursuing a connection with French cuisine, Narisawa went on to develop his “Satoyama” style. His restaurant has been listed for many years as one of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants and has achieved worldwide recognition.
The photographer
After 25 years in the coffee business, Sergio Coimbra became the world’s leading culinary photographer, working with names such as Massimo Bottura and Heston Blumenthal. He studied photography in New York before opening Studio SC in São Paulo. Since then, he has worked on award-winning publications such as Chocolat (2016) with Pierre Herme, Fluiditá with Massimiliano and Rafaelle Alajmo (2013), and with Spanish chef Quique DaCosta (2015). He has exhibited at the Basque Culinary Center and at the Japan House in Los Angeles among many other places. Coimbra is an avid collector of unique dishware, ranging from Chinese ceramic to modern Nordic pieces. He is the winner of the Grand Prix de la Photographie du Tourisme Gastronomique in Paris in 2011.
