Culinary Journey to Shizuoka Prefecture
Greeting from the Food & Beverage team.
In late August, as part of our monthly culinary trips to meet farmers and producers around Japan, Executive Chef Thibault, Executive Sous Chef Ozawa, Materials Manager Mr. Taguchi, and I went to Shizuoka to visit an olive farm and a free-range egg farm.
Crea Olive Farm
In the morning, we arrived at Crea Olive Farm, which is situated on a hilltop with a view of Yaizu Port and Mt. Fuji. The area adjacent to the famous tangerine fields is lined with olive trees, now in their eighth year. While looking around the 15 olive varieties before tasting, Mr. Hoshino, the representative, talked about the philosophy and commitment of Crea Farm with such passion that I was convinced even before tasting the olives. We tasted the olives and olive oil that won a gold medal at The New York International Olive Oil Competition last year. The olive oil was very tasty, with a mild pungency and milky consistency without being cloying.
Olives are a precious item here with only six liters of oil produced from 60kg of fruit. In addition to sustainable, recycling-oriented practices, where the pomace is used as animal fertilizer, the trees are grown with care which definitely results in better flavor.
Asagiri Takarayama Farm
Next, we went to Asagiri Takarayama Farm in Fujinomiya City, a two-hour drive from Nihondaira. Here, we toured a free-range farm. Compared with intensive-farmed eggs where many chickens are fed, lay eggs in small cages and never see daylight, this free-range farm was impressive, where chickens can move freely, fly around and go outside to the terrace to sunbathe and play in the sand in a two or three-story chicken house.
Due to differences in the rearing practices, there are marked differences in physique even among the same breed. Seeing free-range chickens with healthy, thick legs, well-developed physiques and beautiful feathers is proof of the importance of the environment in which they are raised.
Eggs laid by such hens are clearly of high quality, with yolks so elastic that they don’t break easily when pressed on a plate, and whites that are not liquid but keep their plump shape.
This farm is protected by the winds blowing from Mt. Fuji and has never been affected by bird flu. It’s also important for us to support farms that follow animal welfare initiatives and I want to use these eggs at Park Hyatt Tokyo so I can share the story with our guests after having seen the farm with my own eyes.
With this visit, we were once again, able to feel the wonders of the small-scale farms and the passion of the farmers. I’m grateful to Mr. Taguchi for taking me along, and Chef Ozawa for giving me this opportunity. We would like to thank Crea Farm and Asagiri Takarayama Farm
for their warm welcome.
Kojiro Tsutsumi, Chef de Cuisine – Girandole
