niime 百科

Encyclopedia of niime

This new creation “Hara goshirae kai”, which is good to our bodies and the earth, is produced by tamaki niime and the food creators.

It launched in January of this year and has been held every Saturday and Sunday at the ample and cozy space ‘tabe room’ on the second floor of the shop. The food creators from various restaurants switch menus daily, and provide a unique cuisine using plenty of the freshest vegetables.

In this episode on ‘tamaki niime encyclopedia’, Tamaki and Sakai will talk about “Hara goshirae kai” provided by the food creators as they call ‘shokusakunin’ in Japanese.

Tamaki

‘Hitotsu kai’ was held in September of last year, which was the first-anniversary event after we moved to this location. Firstly, Sakai spoke to a chef from Shichinia Shokudo; one of the food creators who attended the event. Then, they introduced their recommended food creators to us to be the next chosen one. This is how “Hara goshirae kai” began.

Sakai

Originally, “Hara goshirae kai” started with our staff to learn various things from the food creators. However, we’d like them to have some benefit from this opportunity. We don’t like having just a business relationship. Actually, we are more focusing on the synergistic effect through “Hara goshirae kai”… hopefully, to be a value-added activity. We learn from them while the food creators focus on their creations, allowing ingenuity and the customer’s evaluations to help them grow creatively.

Tamaki

The critical point is having the right frame of mind. I hope that the food creators are here not only for our cooking staff but also for themselves. Each food creator works as a professional chef in their area. There is a common mind frame set between the distribution of ‘tamaki niime’ products and providing cuisine. You know, customers are pleased, relieved or impressed in different situations. We cannot learn these kinds of things from merely reading or listening. We actually have to have some experience. We often tell our staff to go shopping or broaden their experiences, unfortunately, they have limited time to shop or travel, allowing them to visit many places to learn and grow. That’s why this “Hara goshirae kai” is the very best opportunity for our staff to learn from them. It may trigger the new ideas. So when they have new experiences, these sensations will help them open up their mind and become more creative, making new clothes, providing services, etc.

– You mean, learning from professional food creators even they are in different fields.

Tamaki

Yes. Since we are still developing, we should try to, examine their food and ask them many questions not just about their flavour but also their history of how they built their brand. To know more about them, I can give a compelling explanation for the customer to understand… totally.

Sakai

When I go to Kobe or other big cities, for example, I usually don’t have much information to find good restaurants with delicious food. Even if I check gourmet sites like ‘Tabelog’, there are far too many restaurants, and yet the authentic ones are not on the site. Compared to this, we have “Hara goshirae kai”, which has this particular system where authentic chefs get introduced to other authentic chefs. I think the residents of Nishiwaki who might have thought that a specific restaurant was too far away…but if they serve here at ‘tabe room’ of the ‘tamaki niime, they might come to eat, including some residents of other nearby cities. They don’t have to search on the net. It is beneficial for the customers that every Saturday and Sunday they have to show up to get precise information at our place. Of course, we do have benefit; however we would like the customers to enjoy, so we want to gather sophisticated details. That’s why the food creators are introduced to one another, to make sure they are authentic chefs who can share skills. A food creator who indeed has passion will want to meet others in their field. Since we have a similar mindset, this passion for creation, we only want to introduce those who are bona fide creators as well. So every Saturday and Sunday, we will have authentic food information here, which is so much more accurate than what you can find online.

Tamaki

Information that we can deliver.

– It means ‘tamaki niime’ is like a sending base that has the function to collect the good things and information to deliver to the people who need.

Sakai

It is ‘tamaki niime’ BASE like “SETAGAYA.A.F.BASE” produced by Tokoro George. It’s a nice and fun place to put interesting things together. When you go there, you’ll find something fun. For example, we hold this “Hara goshirae kai” every Saturday and Sunday, and when we reach the second-year anniversary to have “futatsu kai”, we will have the best food creators for each day by our personal preference so that customers will enjoy the very best dishes.

– It sounds like the best gourmet exposition selected by tamaki niime… packed cuisine.

Tamaki

(Yes!) Just come to our place to find the special one. They’ll never be disappointed.

– There is no doubt, isn’t it?

Tamaki

Absolutely…lol…Each person might have their own tastes, of course. We were wondering about that. Initially, we wanted to start with only vegan food since that is what I prefer. However, we reconsider it because a ‘Dried sardine rice’ chef inevitably came along. He uses sardine, well…it is fish.

– It’s animal foodstuff, isn’t it?

Tamaki

There are some people who have been working with sardines using traditional methods. It isn’t mass production, which means they are showing some respect to the fish. He treats the fish with the utmost respect. Since he also has such intense desire to keep the sea clean, so I should not avoid him because he eats and sells animal products. I don’t eat them because this is my trial and experiment; however, I realised some people consume fish and animals, and all the more they take the environment problems seriously.

– To protect the environment, and to catch fish, for sustainability and circulation, they should keep the volume of fish that are caught within safe quotas.

Tamaki

They don’t pollute the ocean, and devote time and care to fish with an understanding of sustainable goals. They divide and roast the fish with traditional way to make authentic, delicious sardine continuously. And they go to all over Japan to sell and promote this.

Sakai

The price is not so reasonable, is it?

Tamaki

Because they don’t produce large volumes. They are particular in using traditional methods which use the small roasting kettles.

Sakai

Generally speaking, they should not ignore the cost percentage even if they make good products. When they think about the sustainability and circulations, they find specific values from them, and they should set a legitimate price.

Tamaki

Why do they set the price like that? If they can answer customers’ questions, such as why the price is set as high as it is, it is the great opportunity bring about understanding. It doesn’t matter if they buy or not. That’s why we should not deny the chefs who utilise animal foodstuffs at “Hara goshirae kai”. If they are serious about the planet, we should work with them to let the customer know what is most important.

Sakai

Tamaki doesn’t eat fish nor animals products because she doesn’t want to effect of life circulation on earth, on the other hand, ‘Dried sardine rice’ chef gets involved in life circulation. On the point of view of vegan and the professional chef’s point of view…both are considering the natural environment on earth seriously and he co-habits with nature and environment.

Tamaki

It doesn’t matter if we eat meat or not. The important thing is that we have the same vision.

– He is professional when he considers how to use fish.

Tamaki

He is grateful for the bounty that he is provided. They don’t overfish. He tries his best to use only the fish that they have caught.

Sakai

Since we are so particular about creating, the food creators cannot do a half-hearted job. If they understand us, if they know our position, they must understand the stakes. All the more reason, they will do their best to perform to the utmost in this situation. That is the bottom line. Of course, we want the customer to come and better understand, so “Hara goshirae kai” is the best opportunity to give them the chance to experience this.

Although they are in the different fields, there is a place for authentic creators who are sincere and passionate about this concept. Here, tamaki niime’s philosophy, daily thoughts, and essence of creation can be displayed and experienced.

Original Japanese text by Seiji Koshikawa.
English translation by Adam & Michiko Whipple.