The "Uzuno-oka Restaurant with a spectacular view" offers a wide variety of dishes using Awaji Island ingredients each season. We asked Mr. Mizukami, who has been with the company for three years and works in the kitchen as a cooking staff member, about how he approaches his work and his future goals.
From Metalworking to Cooking
-First of all, please tell us how you came to join us.
After graduating from high school, I worked for a metalworking company for about two and a half years before joining the culinary staff at Uzu no Oka, a restaurant with a spectacular view.
I enjoyed the metalworking work itself, but I wondered if it wasn't the right job for me. I felt that maybe I wasn't the right person for the job. When I thought about what job I would like to do next, I decided to become a chef since I had obtained a cooking license while I was still in high school.
-Thank you, what were your initial thoughts when you first joined the company?
Although I had a cooking license, I had zero experience in the culinary field.
At first, I had the impression that there was a lot to learn.
In addition to cooking, there are many things to learn, such as how to make dashi (Japanese soup stock) and how to cut fish.
Even now, I also practice at home how to make dashi.
-It takes courage and perseverance to jump into a new industry with no experience and keep going.
Yes, it is.
There are still many aspects of fish preparation techniques that I don't understand, and I have a senior colleague working beside me to teach me.
It is fun to learn how to cut fish, peculiarities of shape, and how to handle a knife.
Even if you think you know what you're doing after watching a YouTube video, it's totally different when you actually cook it.
There is a sense that you learn by making mistakes on the job, and the skills become ingrained in you.
-I see. By the way, what mistakes have you made so far?
I made many simple mistakes, such as cutting the middle bone of a fish, which is not supposed to be cut with a knife, and could not cut it cleanly.
Of course, I still make mistakes.
But because of that, I learned that if you move the knife less and use a bigger knife, you can cut better.
-I am impressed that you are able to face your work with a positive attitude even when you fail. Is there any fish that left the greatest impression on you while you were handling them despite your failures?
Root fish such as akou are difficult to handle.
I had a hard time handling the fish because its body was slimy and I could not handle it cleanly.
I was reminded that this fish requires skill, not brute force.
Then there are the sea eels.
The fish is then staked in the eye, and the knife is inserted to peel off the skin, which is very difficult because of the twisting of the meat.
I always wondered how such a long fish would be processed. I always wondered.
After many attempts at both, I became able to cut them into beautiful shapes.
Easy chef to catch up with someday.
-It seems to be difficult. Is there any fish you would like to try your hand at?
I would like to try cutting the bones of "Hamo (Japanese conger eel)," a summer fish of Awaji Island.
Hamo (Japanese conger eel) is a fish whose skin and bones are quite close together. Of course, the skin should not be cut, but if the knife is too shallow, the bone will remain and it will be difficult to eat. On the other hand, if you cut too deeply, the fish will lose its shape, so you need to have a fine sense of how to cut it. Ideally, after boning, turn the fish over and you should be able to see a faint trace of the knife on the skin.
-The texture of perfectly boned hamo is exquisite, isn't it? Next, could you tell us about the working atmosphere at "Uzuno-Oka," the restaurant with a spectacular view?
Although many of them are older than I am, I have the impression that many of them are kind-hearted people who are quick to answer my questions and help me when I have problems.
In particular, I feel that Chef Mori is a respected boss.
--What do you respect about Chef Mori?
It's a place where I can cook a wide range of foods, including fish and meat, with a broad perspective.
In terms of my work style or personality, I am the type of person who is good at completing one task before moving on to the next.
However, Chef Mori is able to multitask and carry out a variety of tasks, and no matter how busy he gets, he is able to calmly look around and perform various tasks at the same time. He is also able to serve high quality food to our customers. I can also feel that he takes my personality into consideration when he chooses his words and communicates with me.
You are the kind of person I hope to catch up with someday.
-I see that you have a wonderful boss by your side. So what challenges do you want to take on in the future to get closer to that goal?
I would like to be able to cut and serve fish without embarrassment when serving it to customers.
I would also like to continue challenging customers to try the menu I have invented.
Working in the kitchen, there are fewer opportunities to engage with customers and hear their feedback than with hall staff.
But I feel that I am connected to my customers through my cooking. I hope that many more days will come in the future when many of my menu items will be ordered.
I heard that the "Island Lemon Curry - Rare Cherry Salmon Cutlet & Sour Cream" that Mr. Mizukami invented in the past was also well received by customers. Finally, do you have any menu items in the works?
Thank you very much.
Currently, the number of people taking up the challenge of "Awaiichi," a cycling route that circles the perimeter of Awaji Island by bicycle, is rapidly increasing.
We are therefore working on a prototype of "Awaiuchi Curry" to provide cyclists visiting Awaji Island with a memorable and delicious curry.
We want to make curry that will please our customers in terms of volume and taste.
We hope to have the product on the market by mid-June 2024!
-Looking forward to some delicious awaich curry! Thank you very much!
In the course of my work, days of frustration, days of happiness, and days when nothing happens come and go.
The days that we steadily accumulate will surely provide us with food for the future.
Today, too, Mizukami-kun goes straight to work with his food, putting a sword in the fish in season.
