Hello.
My name is Hirakawa, a writer who lives in an old house deep in the mountains of Kanagawa Prefecture with almost no air conditioning.
Even in an old house that is supposed to be cool and well ventilated, it is unexpected that the normal temperature is 35 degrees Celsius every day. I am already looking forward to the arrival of autumn.
This time we will introduce Yoshihiro Okatake, who joined Monosus in 2023 and is currently a member of the MONOSUS Food Research Center . He is currently the head chef of the company cafeteria operated within the offices of a major British pharmaceutical company. With his memorable, warm and smiling face, Okatake aims to create "food that you'll want to eat every day." We spoke to Okatake, who spends fulfilling days savoring the joy, rewards, and responsibility of working in the food industry, about his journey so far and the potential he sees in the company cafeteria.
From musician to chef
Hirakawa : I heard that you were originally a musician.
Okatake : I was a drummer in a band until my mid-20s. But I couldn't make a living from the band alone, so I also did part-time work. I enjoyed working in the food and beverage industry the most. I think that creating things is interesting. So when my band broke up and I decided to put an end to my music career, I thought that cooking would be the job I wanted to make a living from.
Hirakawa : What kinds of stores have you worked at up until now?
Okatake: I like everyday rice and miso soup more than fancy French or Italian food, so I've worked in restaurants serving Japanese food and set meals that I would want to eat every day since I was a part-timer. After I quit the band, I worked at Narutoya + Tenzo in Kamakura, a restaurant that serves Japanese food on a tray, mainly Kamakura vegetables. I was always in charge of washing dishes and preparing vegetables. In my spare time, I would watch how the food was prepared, eat the staff meals, and take notes every day.
The work itself was interesting, but I wanted to learn more about cooking and take the next step, so I quit after about three years. The next place I worked was "d47 Shokudo" in Shibuya Hikarie, run by "D&DEPARTMENT." It was also a set meal restaurant, and they served regional dishes from all over Japan and dishes made with ingredients that were rooted in the land on a tray.
Hirakawa : I want to make meals for ordinary days rather than special days. What made you decide to join "d47 Shokudo"?
Okatake : I think it was around 2014, but the museum next to "d47 Shokudo" was holding a special exhibition on Yamagata Prefecture. In conjunction with the exhibition, the restaurant served local Yamagata cuisine. It was really delicious. It was delicious while inheriting local cuisine, and I felt that there was something more important than just appearance and taste. I immediately asked for an interview and said, "It was really delicious, so I want to work with you," and I was hired and worked as a chef for about eight years.
At "d47 Shokudo," we didn't just recreate local dishes, we went to the local areas, asked local mothers about the local dishes, had them eat, and learned how to make them, and served them at the restaurant. It was very interesting to be able to learn about local dishes and ingredients from various places and to be able to convey them to various people, and it also connected to the context of cooking, which is my favorite "everyday food."
Searching for sustainable relationships with producers, we joined Monosus
Hirakawa: Listening to you, I feel like the job at "d47 Shokudo" was a perfect fit for you. Why did you move to Monosas?
One of the reasons for Okatake was the COVID-19 pandemic. Customers stopped coming, and for about two years we didn't know what tomorrow would bring. During that time, we had contact with various producers, and even though it must have been difficult for them, they were very considerate of us. But we couldn't respond to that feeling. We realized that the ingredients they delivered were only available on the premise that we would cook and eat them, and we felt a great sense of failure.
So I quit because I wanted to try something different from working in the food industry, like making processed foods and delivering them directly to homes. Then, by chance, I was looking at the Nihon Shigoto Hyakka magazine when I came across a job posting for Kudan Shokudo, run by MONOSUS Shokuken. What's more, they weren't looking for a chef, but a restaurant manager. I was interested because I wanted to do something different from being a chef, so I applied, even though I didn't think it would work out.
Hirakawa: Was there something about the company cafeteria that attracted you?
Okatake : I was really attracted to it. With a company cafeteria, it's easy to control what percentage of all employees use it and how many meals are consumed consistently each day. This also makes it very easy to communicate with producers, such as "we can use this much each month, so we would like you to produce this much." Producers can also produce with peace of mind if they have a reliable business partner. This kind of system is difficult to implement in a local restaurant, so I thought it was a great way to build relationships.
Of course, if something like the coronavirus pandemic were to happen again, the company cafeteria would probably close. But Monosus also processes its own food. So even if the company cafeteria had to close, I felt there would be other possibilities at Monosus.
The responsibility and rewards of taking care of one of the three meals a day
Hirakawa: What was it like working as the store manager?
Okatake : It was tough. My skills as a chef and my management skills in the kitchen were often not equal to the management skills of the restaurant manager. To be honest, I didn't have the skills to smoothly run the restaurant as a whole while supporting the chefs. I was really worried. That was probably about nine months until I came to the current employee cafeteria.
Hirakawa : I was really worried.
Okatake : It feels like I was struggling all the time. Then Arai, the business manager, asked me if I wanted to be a chef in the kitchen of another employee cafeteria. I thought it would be better to start cooking again in a new place than to continue struggling like this, so I accepted. It was difficult at first because I had been away from work for a while. I was worried about the daily preparation and the seasoning of the food. But after I started cooking for a while, the employees here started telling me that the food was tastier.
Then I realized that I was really happy that there were people who ate what I cooked every day. Because it was a company cafeteria, there were a lot of people who came to eat lunch every day. I thought that was amazing. Taking care of one of the three meals a day is like cooking for your family, and it's very important, isn't it? This is a feeling you can't get at a restaurant in town.
Hirakawa: That's true. No matter how much you like a restaurant, you don't go there every day.
Number of lunches increased from 150 to 250 per day!
Wheel gluten meat and potato stew set meal (corn and black rice, Dutch-style eggplant stew, egg drop soup)
Simmered mackerel set meal (with boiled purple seaweed and water spinach, corn rice, steamed pumpkin, and eggplant miso soup)
Hirakawa : By the way, what kind of menu do you offer?
Okatake: Today we have hamburger steak, chilled tantan noodles and curry. We have a set menu, a noodle menu, curry rice and a salad bowl that changes weekly, so we have about four different menus. But I like Japanese food, so hamburger steak is not really my forte (laughs). So, although we have to think about the overall balance, we also serve Western and Chinese food.
But I do love Japanese food (laughs). We used to only have pasta on the noodle menu, but we gradually started adding soba and udon. We also gradually increased the number of fish dishes in our set meals, like miso-marinated grilled fish and miso-boiled fish. We've heard people say they're happy with the fish dishes, and more than anything, we were happy to hear that our miso soup has become much tastier.
Hirakawa : So miso soup is made from stock?
Making soup stock using only kelp and bonito takes time and money, so I make miso soup using vegetable scraps that are left over during preparation. Vegetables make a great soup stock. Many people have told me that the miso soup has become tastier. Gradually, the number of people using the company cafeteria has increased, from about 150 meals a day to 250 meals since I joined.
Hirakawa : Wow, that's amazing!
Okatake: I reaffirmed that what I had cultivated up until now was not wrong. Although there were many things, I once again found a sense of purpose in cooking. Recently, I have been able to gain the trust of those around me, so I feel like I can gradually work on what I really wanted to do.
Pursuing the natural deliciousness
Cold soba noodles with chicken and mushrooms, and edamame rice balls.
Hirakawa: What did you really want to do?
Okatake: I'm still in contact with small producers, and there are still a lot of ingredients that we want to use but can't. I hope we can make more suggestions for such ingredients. That way, we can support producers. For example, there are people in Kagawa who grow dried sardines from the Seto Inland Sea, and they're really delicious. But we can't use them here, so I hope we can make them available someday.
Ever since his days at Hirakawa d47 Shokudo, it has been important to Okatake to build and maintain connections and relationships with producers.
Okatake : That may be true. Another thing is that, after all, it's a daily meal, so I don't want to do anything that would betray that. I want to continue making delicious and healthy food. Well, that's difficult, though. Even with the same menu, some people say, "It was really delicious," while others say, "Today's seasoning was really sweet." When I wonder what the difference is, it might be that they put too much sauce on it, or that their taste preferences differ depending on their gender or place of origin. I often think about what is truly delicious after blending all of those things together. Pursuing that kind of ordinary deliciousness is what I want to do, what I do, and what I want to continue doing.
Hirakawa :It's very tedious work.
That's fine for Okatake . I'm not the kind of person who wants to create my own dishes that express something. I just want people to take a break with a bowl of rice and miso soup, and have the energy to work hard in the afternoon.
Sugimoto (writer): Mr. Okatake is originally a drummer and someone who keeps the rhythm going. This may be a stretch, but it seems like your meals are like your daily rhythm.
Okatake: That may be true (laughs). I guess I do take a step back. I think working in a company cafeteria is a good fit for my personality, as I'm happy just providing support.
"She seems to be having a lot of fun at work these days," said Okatake, who looked lively and happy, just as the rumors said. Her specialty is simmered dishes. She loves dashi broth. She prefers fish to meat. Her love of Japanese food makes her seem like a mother who carefully considers nutritional balance and watches over the health of her employees. Since it's a company cafeteria, we probably won't have many opportunities to eat it, but I would love to try Okatake's delicious "Ke no Hi" meal someday.