Q&A: Hiroyuki Kanda
The chef-owner of Kanda, in Tokyo - visiting Hong Kong for a promotion at The Krug Room - talks to Vanessa Yung about his upbringing, his restaurant and his vision
"I was born into a family of restaurant owners and cooks. Both my parents cook. It's in my blood. I started aged eight as a small assistant in my family's restaurant, washing and preparing different ingredients. I didn't decide I wanted to be a chef, my parents did. They taught me all the basics. When I was young, I always saw them discussing - or fighting - with each other about the cooking and ingredients. Cooking is natural for me as everything around me revolves around it."
"I'm an ambitious man so 28 years ago, when I was 23, I decided to go to Paris. I needed more knowledge of foreign ingredients and to expand my techniques. The notion of each ingredient is different in Japan [than it is] in France. For example, tai [sea bream] and tuna are the most expensive fish in Japan. But in France they are not as popular as sea bass. Also, because of the terroir, the same ingredients taste different in different countries."
"I've worked in many famous restaurants including Basara [in Tokyo] as the head chef. It's difficult to do the best job except in Tokyo. There, we receive the best ingredients every day from all over the country. My family restaurant is in Shikoku, in western Japan, which doesn't get as much fresh produce. It closed two years ago because [the owner's] son didn't inherit it [he laughs]."
"Most Japanese customers would say my signature dish is my owan [soup]. There can be from five to more than 12 ingredients in the bowl. You can tell what season it is through an owan. Many foreigners, however, consider the slow-cooked beef cutlet to be my signature dish. I don't use very marbled parts because it can become too oily. I bring up the temperature slowly to make the tenderloin soft and juicy."
"After the [2011 Tohoku] earthquake, Japanese seafood wasn't allowed into England. So it's stopped now. I don't have any upcoming projects. But it's time for me to think about my staff and raise their skills and techniques, which also means improving the quality of my restaurant. I want to nurture new chefs - they don't have to be good at cooking when they join, but they have to have the sense and passion to work with me."