KISHIMOTO || Seasonal Ingredients and Creativity Combine to Present A Visually Stunning Kaiseki Feast
"Why aren't you sticking to regular Japanese food?"
A customer posed this question to Chef Akira Kishimoto, who said the reason was to challenge himself so his creativity wouldn't get stale. What also caught my attention is that he mentioned the exercise of crafting a Kaiseki menu based on seasonal items isn't just for his fulfillment; it's also to invigorate his team. I resonated with this point because this is a business philosophy I also practice, and it's helped boost morale and motivation among team members. Taking people out of the mundane, repetitive tasks and pushing them to take steps out of their comfort zone is often a catalyst for creative magic.
This energy culminated in the thoughtful and visually captivating dishes on the Kaiseki menu, which usually consists of 7 to 8 dishes depending on the availability of locally sourced ingredients. The preparation is a team effort, and Chef Kishimoto humbly shares the spotlight with Sous Chef Chef Nohara, an essential assistant in preparing the night's dishes.
The appetizer platter featuring eleven different tasty elements mimics a Japanese zen garden.
Asked where he gets his inspiration, Chef Kishimoto says it's in his every day. As he was driving down the street, he saw a tree off the side of the road, and it inspired him to turn a mushroom into the shape of a tree for the appetizer platter.
The captivating visual and culinary feast is only the beginning. The Kishimoto team collaborated with Masa of Artisan SakeMaker (based on Granville Island) to craft a food and drink journey to delight your taste buds.
Three sakes were curated for the evening’s menu: Daiginjo Kura no Nushi, Akaiwa Omachi Junmai Daiginjo, and Osake Fraser Valley Junmai Renaissance. The first two are imported from Japan, while the third is produced locally in Canada by Artisan SakeMaker with 100% BC-grown sake rice using organic farming practices.
Produced in Niigata, Japan, Daiginjo Kura no Nushi translates to the ‘Master of the Cellar’. The sake’s impressive aroma, body and complexity stems from the higher-than-normal rice milling rate of fifty percent. The second imported sake, Akaiwa Omachi Junmai Daiginjo, is produced using a famous variety of Omahi sake rice—Akiwa Omachi. The flavour is rich and earthy due to its unique volcanic silt and clay soil terroir. Lastly, the Osake Fraser Valley Junmai Renaissance is so named for its vision as a ‘Renaissance Sake’, born in the modern era for modern wine aficionados and is ideal to highlight flavours of red and white meats, charcuterie, cheeses and desserts. The diverse tasting notes of the sakes offer perfect pairings for every dish on the Kaiseki menu, from light and fresh to hearty and flavourful.
Flavour, texture, and colour in every bite.
The first dish, an appetizer platter designed to represent a miniature zen garden, blew me away. Just on this appetizer platter alone, there were eleven elements. From local Gobo (burdock root) to Matsutake (BC pine mushroom) charcoal grilled and soaked in dashi, and Kobujimé (kelp cured Yarrow Meadows duck breast) and Dashimaki with yuzu zest, I enjoyed every bite from this creative presentation. The flavours and scents of nature permeate through every component, from the plating to the nourishing bites of takikomi Gohan and the tangy dollops of seabuck thorn sauce paired with fermented daikon. The medley of flavours was the optimal start to the rest of the culinary journey.
Next, kelp-cured Hirame Kobujime, wrapped around a piece of sake-marinated and baked matsutake, allowed one to taste the freshness of the sea and the earthy flavours of the mushroom. Dipped in the accompanying jalapeño soy sauce, the single bite wasn’t enough to satisfy my cravings, but I knew there were plenty more dishes to come, so I must save my appetite.
An aromatic bowl of handmade soba noodles with hay-smoked duck was served after the refreshing sashimi. The mouth-watering scent can be traced back to the duck fat used in the dish, which was an instant trigger for the carnivore in me.
Hirame kobujime (kelp cured), sake marinated & baked matsutake, jalapeño soy sauce.
Handmade soba noodles with hay smoked duck and duck fat slow cooked leek purée.
Our next dish was served on a large platter, and we all looked quizzically at it, wondering what it was, as our hosts came by the table with a wooden stick to break through the hardened salt and egg white outer casing. The team carefully removed the skin to reveal the soft, buttery Gindara cheek shio-kama nestled within. The richness of the fish oil lingered on my palate long after I finished the dish.
The servers came from the kitchen with a package wrapped in cedar wood. They patiently torched the cedar wood to release a calming and refreshing scent, gently infusing the Sablefish wrapped inside it. The Sablefish was marinated with Artisan Sake Maker’s sake-kasu, making each bite irresistibly delicious.
BC Gindara cheek shio-kama (baked in salt & egg white), dehydrated spruce tips.
The cedar is torched to release a relaxing scent as the prelude to the hearty cod wrapped inside.
BC Gindara Sablefish marinated with Artisan Sake Maker’s sake-kasu , Sugi-ita style (wrapped in cedar wood).
A Japanese meal isn’t complete without Agemono (fried dishes), and thus a generous portion of fried items including sword tip squid, local eggplant, ebi, and local red kuri squash transitioned our meal into the more carb-heavy segment of the night’s menu.
Of course, sushi was on the menu, but not your regularly fish. The night’s selects were red snow crab with yuzu butter soy sauce and yuzu zest, local Gindara tataki with garlic chips, green onion and ponzu, and Swordtip squid with shiso ume sauce.
Red snow crab with yuzu butter soy sauce & yuzu zest, local Gindara tataki with garlic chips, green onion, ponzu. Kensaki ika (Swordtip squid) with shiso ume sauce.
Given the cold, wintry weather, the next dish was the perfect warming interlude before dessert. Those who are lactose-intolerant would rejoice at this creamy soup made with local sunchoke soup made from seabream bone dashi with oat milk foam, sunchoke chips, and flowers.
Local sunchoke soup surinagashi style made from seabream bone dashi with oat milk foam, sunchoke chips, flowers.
We ended the evening on a sweet note with a duo of sweets. The first was a caramelized fig ice cream in monaka (Japanese mochi wafer that is a classic treat), fig sake-kasu compote, satsumaimo (Japanese sweet potato "chestnut husk"), and hazelnut.
The second was a rosemary-infused ice cream with raspberry sauce, so light and aromatic that it made me sad we had reached the final dish of the evening.
The Kaiseki menu is available to the public, but you do have to order two to three days in advance. From what I observed, it does take a village to put together the presentation for each dish. Chef Kishimoto shares that they can only serve up to a group of four people for the Kaiseki menu each evening, so I suggest making haste to get your booking today! Note that the menu changes based on available ingredients so that you will be pleasantly surprised by the team’s innovative additions with each visit.
Caramelized fig ice cream in monaka (Japanese mochi wafer), fig sakekasu compote, satsumaimo (Japanese sweet potato "chestnut husk"), hazelnut.
