Feast On Shizuoka

Aroma Melon

Tomohisa Yamashita, Owner, Yamashita Melon Farm

Branded under the name Aroma Melon, this coveted fruit is referred to as musk melon due to its intense musk-like bouquet. What sets the melons at Yamashita Melon Farm, Iwata city apart from the rest is the amount of dedication Tomohisa Yamashita (right) spends on the soil – using organic fertitiliser from Suzuki Farm (below), the melons boast a refreshingly juicy flesh, and are at once sweet and umami.

Yumesaki-Beef

Masaki Suzuki, President, Suzuki Farm

The moment we stepped into the ranch, the cows started inching towards us quietly, seemingly out of sheer curiousity. This peculiar behaviour can only translate to one thing – that the cows are relaxed around humans. Home to 750 Japanese black cows (or kuroge wagyu, the most prized wagyu) in Omaezaki city, Suzuki Farm takes exceptionally good care of its cattle to ensure the cows are living in a stress-free environment. Some examples, according to Masaki Suzuki: The ground is covered with a powdered mix of cedar wood and pine wood, which makes for great cushioning; the cows have easy access to a “salt cube”, which is made up of natural minerals and is said to improve their mental and physical health; and the ranch is installed with a cool mist spray, which cools the cows during summer. Suzuki’s careful rearing methods aimed at improving the well-being of the cows result in Yumesaki-beef, an A5-grade wagyu that is of the highest quality.

Green tea

Nobuki Mori, President and CEO, Marumo Mori

Can you recall the taste of certain teas you tried five years ago? Nobuki Mori can – and not surprisingly so. A 9th level tea examiner and the only certified tea appraiser in Shizuoka prefecture, Mori takes fierce pride in producing premier teas that cater to a wide range of consumer tastes. There are two powerful factors that contribute to his 138-year-old company Marumo Mori’s success: their expertise in sourcing quality leaves from all over Japan as well as blending flavourful teas; and their innovative use of technology and machines in the production of their teas. The gyokuro Mori specially prepares for Chef Wakuda is from a tea farm located in Asahina, Fujieda City. It is owned by a renowned gyokuro master called Mr Omura, who has received numerous awards for his exceptional tea. Gyokuro is considered the most precious and expensive among Japanese green tea. Named Hon-Gyokuro, the leaves are cultivated using an age-old method that involves shading the tea field with black plastic nets for 20 days before harvesting. This process is said to increase the levels of theanine, an amino acid that enhances the flavour of the tea.

(TEXT TAN LILI PHOTOGRAPHY NORIO NAGATA, YOKO FUJIMOTO & TETSUYA ONODA)

 

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