Nice to meet you. My name is Sugie and I joined the Production Department in April 2018. There are several reasons why I decided to join Monosasu, but one of them was my strong interest in the Food Hub Project (FHP). I had told my boss, Manabe, the manager of FHP, "I want to go to Kamaya! I want to go to Kamiyama!", so I was blessed with the opportunity to visit during the Golden Week holidays.
FHP publishes information daily on their website ( http://foodhub.co.jp/ ), so there are some things you can learn by reading there. However, I had a strong desire to experience the atmosphere, which you can only get by going to the place in person.
However, you won't understand anything just by going to Kamiyama and Kamaya and looking around. So I thought I'd actually help out! I'd like to experience something close to the daily lives of the staff! So I decided to help out.
I would like to report on what I experienced, heard, and thought in a haphazard manner. This time, I will mainly talk about the making of Kamaya's signature product, Kamiyama Mate.
Kamiyamamate made from really simple ingredients
Kamiyama Mate, sold at Kamapan, is a snack made with specially grown rice and rice bran. Domestic wheat is mixed with coarsely ground rice flour and rice bran, then mixed with soy milk and rice oil and thoroughly baked.
The workshop where Kamiyama Mate is made is a disused school lunch center. The machines are left as they were, and I was a little nervous about entering, but I exchanged a few words with the staff waiting in the back. On this day, two local mothers, FHP staff Nakano (Sato) who is in charge of cooking, Sasagawa (Ai) who is in charge of the cafeteria, the chef who came to help out at Kamaya, and myself, a total of six people, made Kamiyama Mate.
There are several flavors to choose from, and this time they're making three: plain, Awa Bancha, and chocolate chip. Looking at the list of ingredients, they all had the same ingredient, "local flour." It's a general term for flour made by milling locally from locally harvested ingredients, and wheat flour is what they call it here. I couldn't help but be surprised that they only used the ingredients listed on the product introduction page , even though it may seem like a given. I think we've been unconsciously imprinted with the idea that processed foods naturally contain additives.
Create together
Dough with rice bran mixed in
"It's rare to find sweets that contain rice bran," the mothers said with a smile as they began to work. Yes, I had never thought of rice bran being used as an ingredient in sweets. In stark contrast to their calm demeanor, they rolled the mixed dough, stretched it, cut it, and shaped it... Their every move was quick and snappy, and very cool.
A workbench. The wooden frame and the fishbone-like tool on the far left are all handmade.
Sato and Ai are nearby, checking the molded products. They remove any that may crumble when baked, knead the dough again, and mold them from scratch again, repeating this process. From the outside, they may all look the same, but I think this is the discerning eye that comes from being involved in the production of the products.
Making holes at equal intervals is quite difficult, but Sato says it's his favorite task.
In the middle of the conversation, he said, "Let's take a break and have some tea," and finally his eyes were directed elsewhere than the workbench. I wondered when he'd started brewing tea. It seemed he was concentrating on his work more than I'd expected.
It was at this point that I realized that the baking work had been going on at the same time as I was enjoying my tea. When the oven opened, I was enveloped in a soft, sweet aroma, and my nostrils reflexively flared.
In between, Sato-san would have casual conversations with the mothers, saying things like, "By the way, the ____ you told me about the other day was really good." When a former FHP staff member came to deliver materials, the mothers looked at the child who had come with her and said, "You've grown so much," with kind looks in their eyes.
It made me feel warm and fuzzy, as if I had caught a glimpse of a relationship that goes beyond just work.
Something that can only be felt through handmade craftsmanship
As the work neared the end, I had the chance to try the first batch of freshly baked bread. They were still warm and crumbled in my mouth. They had a simple taste that was both popping and piping hot. Combined with the joy of seeing something I had helped create, I got a little emotional eating them.
Freshly baked Kamiyama Mate-chan. I love it so much I want to add the 'chan' to it.
Due to other commitments after that, I was not able to complete my help, but needless to say, from the next day onwards I spent my days casually checking out the Kamiyama Mates on display at Kamapan & Store, wondering "I wonder if the things I helped with are on display?"
Thank you to the local moms, Sato-san and Ai-san, for giving us this wonderful experience!
Tomorrow I will report on how I helped out on the farm!
SUGIE Natsuki