The People Who Live to Feast. The Blind Donkey Jerome Warg Chez Panisse</trp-post-container

People who live to feast. The Blind Donkey, Jerome Wague, Chez Panisse.

What kind of people support Japan, one of the world's leading food nations?　Some people think that simply savoring a delicious meal is enough, but as with movies and music, knowing the story behind the meal and the people who made it makes it all the more enjoyable. The second guest is Jerome Wague, who, along with Shinichiro Harakawa, is the chef at "The Blind Donkey" in Kanda. After many years as head chef at Chez Panisse, an organic restaurant in Alice Waters, he moved to Japan to open a restaurant with Mr. Harakawa. Although he is one of the world's most popular chefs, Jerome's way of life is unique in that he has a deep-seated bohemian spirit. His aloof and sincere way of working and thinking is a sample of a free way of life, regardless of whether you are in the restaurant industry or not.

  • Add this entry to Hatena Bookmarks

Jerome Wague / Chef at The Blind Donkey

Born in Paris, France. He was the head chef of Alice Waters' organic restaurant, Chez Panisse, in Berkeley, California, USA, for many years. Moved to Japan and launched RichSoil & Co. with Shinichiro Harakawa in 2017, opening the restaurant The Blind Donkey in Kanda, Japan.

Berkeley's organic restaurant that grows up in Berkeley.

I was a chef at Alice's (Waters) restaurant, Chez Panisse, for 25 years. I was originally born in France, but dropped out of high school and traveled to India for a year, thinking I was done with my studies. Then, because my mother and Alice had been friends for a long time, I visited Berkeley where Alice was. My mother ran a small diner, and I have always loved cooking.

Berkeley was then, and still is, a very liberal place, though it is important enough to say that it is part of what makes Alice who she is, and in the 1960s, the Free Speech movement blossomed, and there was always a very politically conscious but open atmosphere, and bohemians It was the kind of place where there were also Alice has always been an alternative culture person, not on the establishment side.

I moved here from France and immediately fell in love with Berkeley. It was full of energy, had a free atmosphere, and was comfortable to live in. I ended up at "Chez Panisse" for the first four years of my probationary period, where I cooked in the café. Alice's restaurant has two spaces, the café is upstairs and the restaurant is downstairs. After the café, I started working in the restaurant downstairs. It is more formal there, and the menu changes every day. It is not a routine, so I have to take responsibility for each dish, just because it is more free and creative. But that freedom and responsibility suited me and I liked it.

Part-time head chef!

After that, I worked full time for a while, but I started thinking that I wanted to improve myself through something other than cooking, and that I wanted to do art activities. So I decided that I couldn't maintain the same work-life balance as before, and I talked to Alice about changing my shift to working only three days a week at the restaurant and doing art activities the rest of the time, and she said yes. Alice is free and generous in that way, too.

I never studied art seriously, but I spent my days making books, drawing pictures, and thinking things over slowly and deeply. I rented a studio for art, but rent was cheap back then, so the money needed was not that expensive. While doing art, I have been a part-time head chef for the last 20 years or so (laughs), although I do it in six-month shifts with another chef.

Take a break from the store and go to the Zen Center.

In addition to my art activities, I left the store and joined a monastery at a Zen center in California for about two years starting in 1999. It was about four hours from San Francisco, and there were fields where I could tinker with the soil and grow vegetables. It was a good environment for deepening my thoughts, away from the hustle and bustle of the outside world. As for why I decided to enter, I wanted to dismantle and rebuild myself all over again. I personally value making the right choices about the life I want to lead. Human beings are composed of various things, such as parents, school, and society, aren't they?　It is something that is given to us and we cannot choose it. That is why I joined the Zen Center, to reset and rebuild.

Recently, the tech industry and other big capital has entered California, making it difficult to live there. Rent in California has also become several notches higher, and I chose to come to Japan and try something new because of my connection with Mr. Harakawa. Japan has been on my mind since I was a little girl, as my mother took me to see Japanese movies in France and I liked Japanese film directors.

The concept of Brand Donkey is to use seasonal and natural ingredients. In Japan, there is a famous book titled "The Straw Revolution." I believe that nowadays, the economy takes priority and we use too much chemical fertilizers. Food is something that is essential to our connection with people and nature. I hope that I can convey this message to people as they enjoy each dish so that they can continue to eat delicious food in the future.

the Blind Donkey

www.theblinddonkey.jp/ja/

TAG
# People who live for the feast
# Hood
  • Add this entry to Hatena Bookmarks
Page Top