He has introduced new ideas aiming at more delicious dishes while inheriting Kagaya’s long nurtured cooking techniques of Japanese food.
In every season, you can enjoy the best ingredients of Kaga and Noto, here at Kagaya. Please savor Kagaya’s seasonal delicacies.
Chef Nakamura was trained in restaurants in Osaka and joined Kagaya in September 1986. He became the Sixth Master Chef in November 2008 after the career of the Master Chef of Kagaya’s sister hotel, Aenokaze.
Local Foods ＆ Ingredients
There’s no greater happiness for a chef than to work here in the Noto Peninsula, so rich in abundant local ingredients.
We give thanks to the fishermen who set out on the waters of the Sea of Japan, as well as to those who raise our delicious Kaga vegetables. From them we receive foods at the peak of freshness, which we then transform into the dishes that are enjoyed by our guests.
We also use Tanadamai rice, raised locally by contract growers. Since our guests come to us from many great distances, we strive to serve them only the best locally-produced ingredients.
Obtaining ingredients
Obtaining ingredients is the most difficult part of my work. Getting a large amount of high-quality foodstuffs is not easy. When seafood is not sufficient due to a short harvest of the day and cannot be gotten from a single market, I quickly send a staff member to another market in Ishikawa prefecture. I also go to the market in Kanazawa harbor to check the quality of seafood.
For the smiles of guests
The room clerks serve dishes. In order that our guests might enjoy the best taste, I instruct the room clerks about service timing and about spices, such as Wasabi (horseradish), ginger, grated radish; and by considering carefully their affinity with each ingredient.
When our guests give us their opinions or impressions, I always draw upon them for considering new menus. Also, when our guests stay for a long time, the chefs directly ask them about their liking and add a la carte items.
Local dishes
It is the chef’s mission to inherit the tradition of dishes in Kaga and Noto. I sometimes visit the experienced experts to ask for teaching about traditional preserved foods in Ishikawa, such as Kabura-zushi, Nare-zushi, Koji-zuke, Kasu-zuke etc.
I am studying various local dishes of good quality to add to the menu for our guests.
Heart of cooking
Kagaya has many guests everyday, but the relationship between a guest and a chef is one-on-one. I have trained the staff in the kitchen so that they think of each guest and arrange every dish exactly. Speed is important for cooking raw fish. Raw fish must be cooked quickly with a clean and sharp knife so as not to spoil the freshness. When a clean and sharp knife is not used, a chef cannot display his touch.