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Yamamoto: “Umami is enriched by the influence of other kinds of cuisine”
Critic Masuhiro Yamamoto bases his work on the discovery of new talent, and he favours modern Japanese cookery that has overcome the clichés
This morning Gastronomika was graced with an exceptional guide to examine the new Japanese cuisine which, although it has retained the basis of the traditional concept, "has been influenced by other styles, the result of a phenomenon that has been observed since the 70s, such as our chefs' training overseas. In Japan we are also in the era of chefs”, he declared.
Yamamoto has the merit of introducing gastronomy critique to his country, a skill he learned himself with the guidance of a sushi maestro - he jumped into this after becoming obsessed with the Michelin Guide during a visit to France, and it has earned him prestigious awards and made him one of the most influential people on the Japanese cookery scene. “Our great traditional meals are ramen, a bowl of soup with pasta, vegetable and meat which is all the rage nowadays; the Tonkatsu, a pork pastie that has improved its quality thanks to Iberian pigs, and of course sushi, which is as popular with us as your paella", he explained.
In his introduction, the expert explained to congress-goers that the temperature - around 35-40o, similar to the temperature of the mouth - and the dressing of the rice are much more important than the fish in a good sushi. He also told them that sashimi is not fish, just "a perfect cut calling for a good knife, much skill and a clean technique for the rectangular strip to recreate the essential taste of the fish it comes from". Yamamoto believes that Japanese cuisine is "cookery swathed in water" which uses no butter or any other kind of fat, and is based on the essential taste of each raw material used. And the taste this cookery pursues, of course, is the famous Umami, "a mild, clean, delicate, ephemeral taste, which is fortunately being enriched with new techniques and additions".
By way of a conclusion, after claiming that “Ferrán Adriá will be remembered as the best chef of all time", he listed a few restaurants which are stirring up gastronomy in his country, such as Hamasaku in Kyoto, Myojaku in Tokyo, and Yoshii in Nagoya.
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