Inside the Kitchen: Seven Questions With Mijoté's Kosuke Tada

Maybe rice? (Laughs.) You can do lot of things with it. If you’re on the island, you can find some meat or edible plant and cook with it and change the taste.... I don’t know. I’m Japanese. It’s something easy, and I can eat rice with everything, man!

I grew up with my grandma. She would cook Japanese food every day. It was nice. One dish called chikuzenni. It’s a specialty of Fukuoka Prefecture. It’s a very old dish. It’s a root vegetables like lotus roots and carrots, cooked with chicken. The broth reduces and caramelizes, and you can serve it warm and cold. My memory was of her always making that. I was always happy when she made it. It’s very simple.

For me, French Michelin restaurants and restaurants here are totally different ideas. I still don’t understand the US Michelin culture. I worked too long in France, so my idea of Michelin-starred restaurants is totally different. How they choose Michelin stars here and [t]here is a big difference.

I enjoy fine dining, for sure. It’s a special occasion, and when I go to France, I go to fine dining. I love fine dining so much. The French front of house, especially, they have so much skill. It’s a special job.

For sure, it’s a special-occasion thing. It’s where [you] can forget reality. It’s a place to go where the food is great. The service is great. You are in a movie. It feels so good. It’s not just about the food. You enjoy the time. For lunch or dinner, you can forget all reality.

That’s a good question. I was just thinking. For me, the restaurant I like and create is a daily restaurant, not fine-dining style, somewhere where someone can come two or three times a month and never get the same menu.

My goal is to keep it casual, but for someone who wants to eat somewhere nice, and if they choose our restaurant, I feel great. This is my goal.

My goal, the responsibility, is to give a good time, not just food. That makes me happy.

Etxebarri. I’ve never been. I’ve been wanting to go for a long time. Twice, I had a chance, but I just missed the opportunity. It sounds like fine dining, but not super plating. It’s more ingredient-driven. More honest. Now in my point in life, it’s more my style. I still appreciate super crazy plating. But if I can eat super good Spanish ingredients in a simple way, I want that. I want to eat this way.

Three ingredients. One small surprise, like finding a nice combination of this and that together. Something that makes people say, “That makes sense, but [I] never thought of that flavor combination together.”

I also use local ingredients and try to create a dish that’s balanced. I don’t want to put so many things on a plate.

Soup. We make whole chicken soup at my house. Just with ginger and a side of rice and salad. Everyone is happy. My kids are happy. I’m happy.