My first cookbook (written in Japanese) came about through a guest, an editor at one of Japan’s larger publishing houses. He liked the meal so much that he commissioned a book on the spot.
I’ve never wanted to be a professional chef; I don’t think I’m built for the long hours and repetitive nature of it. I’ve never cooked in a restaurant, and I hope to keep it that way. I like to make simple food that can be made by anyone.

ZN: What is this “breakaway Japanese” cuisine? How is it different from Pan Asian or Pacific Rim Fusion?
EG: Breakaway Japanese cuisine uses classic Japanese ingredients like miso, ginger, tofu, edamame, umeboshi, soy sauce, sesame, shiso, etc., and combines them with farmers’ market organic bounty: fresh herbs, organic meats and produce, citrus, fresh and dried fruit, artisanal vinegars and olive oils, chiles, and whole spices. This is something very few people in Japan do, at least in home kitchens. A number of truly excellent “new” Japanese restaurants have cropped up in Tokyo, New York, and Los Angeles, but, to my knowledge (and great dismay), we have none in the SF Bay Area. But it’s easy to make at home, as I’ve tried to demonstrate in The Breakaway Japanese Kitchen.

ZN: From your cookbook, it would seem that portion and presentation make a departure as well. What is your motivation for these changes?
EG: Well, I like to serve portions that are medium size: not too big (disgusting), and not too small (precious). I like to serve it “rustico” style, simply presented on fine yet rough-hewn Japanese pottery. I really don’t understand this slavish devotion to/obsession with white porcelain in fine restaurants here. Color is important! There is an entire visual component/aspect of eating—the better it looks, the better it’s likely to taste. The trick is to not cross the line into preciousness; real food art is based on simplicity, not displays of dazzling complexity.

ZN: What is the range of reactions in Japan to your cuisine?
EG: Most people are skeptical when they hear, for example, that I like to combine creamy tofu with olive oil, homemade pickled ginger, and fresh fruit, or to puree edamame with mint and olive oil and serve it with udon. They see it as a kind of radical act, something that just isn’t done. Many people in Japan believe that there is a right (and wrong) way to do most things, especially concerning food. But once they try it, the “conversion” is often genuine, and they leave shaking their heads, amazed that they had not considered these combinations before. I still get e-mail all the time from readers, thanking me for “liberating” them from their food sets.

ZN: What is it about Japanese culture that keeps it from expanding and experimenting in its own cuisine?
EG: I think it’s this sense of flawless execution of tradition. To me, that approach is a kind of fetish; it is believed that perfection in taste/cuisine has long been established by professionals and cooking teachers who ipso facto know more about your own palate than you do, and that skill in the kitchen is equated with executing the canon. This is true not only in cooking, but in all the arts—painting, dance, flower arrangement, music, theater, and many other areas, even scholarship. Pottery is the notable exception: it is Japan’s most alive art, in my opinion. It’s easy to find absolutely fantastic, one-of-a-kind pottery almost anywhere in Japan, and contemporary potters seem to delight in breaking the rules and coming up with new, wildly brilliant stuff.

ZN: What do you think of what Delica is doing? How is it the same or different from what you are doing?
EG: Rock Field is offering fresh fare typically found in any Japanese department store. It is truly typical contemporary Japanese food, stuff that people eat on a daily basis in Japan. Because I lived there for 15 years and had my fill of it, it doesn’t much suit my palate anymore, but I’m happy that San Franciscans can get a taste of how everyday Japanese people eat their everyday meals, which is quite different from the typical fare offered here like tempura, sushi, teriyaki, etc.

ZN: What are you planning next?
EG: Kodansha commissioned me to write the text for a gorgeous, high-end, photography-driven coffee-table book on Japanese ingredients. They’ve also asked me to translate a book on traditional Zen temple cuisine, which I’m thinking about. I have at least three ideas for new cookbooks, but I don’t wanna jinx them by talking about them! I’ve been describing what I’ve been cooking lately on my website, www.ericskitchen.com.

I later had the pleasure of interviewing Brian Hageman, Manager of Delica rf1, a Japanese Deli.

ZN: Who is behind Delica?
BH: Delica is a Japanese company, Rock Field, and was founded 30 years ago by Mr. Kozo Iwata. He owned a single restaurant in Kobe and in his travels to Europe he fell in love with the concept of the European deli. Delica has over 300 locations in Japan, with many in the small vendor specialty food courts in the basements of the huge department stores.

ZN: What are you trying to accomplish with the “Deli” concept and how does it fit into the Ferry Building scene?
BH: The deli concept is a “prepared to go” concept that fits wonderfully with the bento box idea and the traveling crowd we serve. We also want Americans to see the variety of cuisine choices that exist today in Japan, and the deli allows a low-cost threshold to experience it.
Mr. Kozo Iwata took a walking tour of the Ferry Building with his good friend Alice Waters and it reminded him of the specialty food courts in the department stores of Japan. He saw a perfect fit and the time was right to expand outside of Japan. The result is Delica rf1, the Rock Field’s first store (rf1) in the States. We fit in with the Ferry Building because of our attention to sustainable, organic, and locally produced ingredients, but work with Japanese ingredients that are not always available locally.

ZN: What is in store for the future of Japanese cuisine?
BH: We are introducing to Americans the depth of Japan’s food culture. The misconception is that the Japanese eat sushi everyday. They can’t, as it is very expensive and is considered a specialty cuisine that is sought out at birthdays, holidays, etc. Another misconception that we are trying to get across is that tofu isn’t just a meat substitute. By incorporating it into meat dishes it can be a tasty and healthy extender. The response from our people has been enthusiastically positive. We see this fusion of the western deli with the Japanese attention to presentation as creating a new understanding of the food as accessible and beautiful. Our sauces have influences from Pan Asian elements, Chinese style sauces, hot peppers, and some European favorites like the potato croquette. Known in Japan as the Kobe croquette as it started there.

ZN: Future stores and plans for merchandizing?
BH: No plans at the moment in regards to either of those issues…although we do get a lot of requests for our hand-ground sesame dressing. We do have a delivery service and we’re starting to do some catering. We might consider more stores and/or merchandizing in the future, but right now our main focus in on establishing the deli.

ZN: I understand you are going to have a juice bar at the deli. Are you going to integrate the juice bar into the cuisine served at the deli?
BH: For right now, the juice bar will be made to complement the deli’s different offerings. We will be blending vegetable and fruit juices as well as changing the juice menu to reflect the seasonality of the fresh market.


Contact information:
Eric Gower, “Breakaway Japanese Kitchen,” www.ericskitchen.com

Delica rf1
One Ferry Building, Shop 45, San Francisco, CA 94111
Tel 415.834.0344
FAX 415.834.0348
www.delicarf1.com