As I have said on every occasion, I am not a "gourmet." A synonym for gourmet is "gourmand," which means big eater, so I think it has the nuance of loving to eat anything that is delicious. On the other hand, if "gourmet" is "gastronomy" and "gaston" means the stomach and "eating," then "nomie" is "nomos" = law, or "to regulate," and I believe that "gastronomy" is "regulating food," or in other words, "tasting."

I don't like eating out, and if I do, I make it a rule to enjoy French food or French wine. Isn't "gourmet food" something that requires a certain level of expertise? If a French chef is trying to perfect French food, then shouldn't the people eating it also try to perfect the art of eating French food? This is "gourmet food," and it doesn't mean that the people eating it can just eat whatever they want.

I don't eat French food at home, but I always have dessert after meals. So at some point, I stopped eating carbohydrates as staple foods. Rice, bread, noodles. I eat a little bread, but for example, I don't have time for lunch at university, so I'll just bite into a sweet bun, or have a croissant at a hotel breakfast, that's about it. I'm what they call "eating only side dishes."

I love curry and eat it at home for dinner once a week, rotating between four fixed brands of ready-made curry. Of course, I only eat the roux and a vegetable side dish, and that's it. There is dessert. When eating out, other than French cuisine, I like eel because I can only order kabayaki. I don't eat unaju. The problem with Italian food is that although I like the food, I can't finish the pasta, so I have to taste a bite and then have my companion eat the rest. I've never really liked raw food, and I chose French food because French cuisine is basically cooked food, meaning it is cooked with some effort.

Therefore, I avoid eating noodles that make my stomach feel heavy. Among them, ramen is something I rarely eat. If I had to say what I don't like, it's because I can't stand the idea of ​​noodles floating in the soup. I would still like to try pasta, which is served with sauce. Soba is light, so I can still eat it if it's served "zaru". Udon can also be eaten with a little bukkake. The soup is the essence of ramen, so I can't just eat the toppings and leave the noodles, so it's a food that seems like it has no connection to me.

Of course, I ate it as a child. I was born during the heyday of instant ramen. I was surprised when Cup Noodles first came out, but to be honest, I've never thought they were delicious. The instant ramen I'd like to try again is Myojo's "Ryushomen." This is simply because I thought the soup was far more delicious than other brands. This was in the early 1970s, when I was still living in Suwa.

Recently, I have had the opportunity to eat ramen once or twice a year. This is because I have started going to a ramen restaurant called "Le Dessin" in Shimada City, Shizuoka Prefecture. After my parents passed away, I try to go to their hometown of Shizuoka City once or twice a year, and when I do, I go to a French restaurant called "Kawasaki" in the city. It is a famous restaurant that has been awarded three toques (chef's hats), which is equivalent to one star in the Michelin guide, by "Gault & Millau". When I asked the owner, Chef Kawasaki, why ramen is served at the end of the meal, he told me that he learned the dish at "Le Dessin" in Shimada. The name "Le Dessin" sounded familiar to me, so I checked if it was the "Le Dessin" run by Chef Masuda, and he confirmed that it was.

"Le Dessin" was a French restaurant that opened near the newly built Ushigome-yanagimachi Station when the Toei Subway Oedo Line opened almost a quarter of a century ago. It was a stylish restaurant with paintings of Chef Masuda hanging on the walls, and was popular due to the warm service provided by his wife, so I often visited it. However, in 2005, I fell seriously ill and, although I narrowly escaped death, I had to refrain from going out as much as possible for a while. Before I knew it, "Le Dessin" had closed, and I heard that Chef Masuda and his family had returned to their hometown in Shimada City.

As the author is not familiar with anything other than French cuisine, I had no idea that Chef Masuda, who returned to Shimada, had opened a ramen restaurant. Moreover, he called it "Le Dessin", the same name as when he was at the French restaurant. However, when you understand the circumstances, it all makes sense. Originally, Fujieda City, which is next to Shizuoka City, and Shimada City, which is next to it, have a custom of eating ramen for breakfast, called "asa-ra", and it is a fierce battleground for ramen restaurants. In fact, "Le Dessin" is open from 7:00 am to 1:00 pm, and closes when it runs out of noodles. Furthermore, the soup stock for Chef Masuda's ramen is based on the soup stock of French cuisine such as guinea fowl and duck, and it is clear that it is an extension of his time at Ushigome Yanagicho.

Such unique ramen has earned the shop a reputation as a nationally renowned restaurant, and the guinea fowl soy sauce ramen was featured on TBS TV's "The Battle to Decide the Most Delicious Ramen Now! The Top 30 Nationwide Selected by God's Tongue! The Strongest Ramen Ranking Show ," which aired on January 18th of this year, ranking 15th.

I was thinking of watching this show, but one of the judges was out of place and I wasn't convinced, so I stopped watching. There were many ramen critics, one of whom was Mr. Ishigami, which was good. It's a shame that I wanted to have multiple ramen experts give a proper judgement. French cuisine is even worse, with no decent critics in Japan other than the late Mr. Mita Morio. Please don't misunderstand that I'm not looking for a food critic, but rather for a critic who specializes in France.

Now, I want to see the faces of Chef Masuda and his wife, so I go to Shimada early in the morning, but since I don't eat ramen anywhere else, it's very difficult to choose what to eat. That's because I can't stand noodles floating in the soup, so I try a sip of the soup my companion eats, such as guinea fowl or scallop, but I don't choose it myself... My only salvation is the "mazesoba" (mixed noodles), which I always order. It may be unorthodox for ramen connoisseurs, but it's quite delicious. The Japanese base is covered with bonito flakes, and the Chinese elements of oyster sauce and sesame oil are added, making it full of flavor. Even I can eat half of it. This summer, I tried "hiyashi chuka" (cold Chinese noodles). It looks French, with avocado and mayonnaise made from olive oil, and it was really delicious.

I'm planning to go to Shizuoka with Anda Yuko of Anda Gyoza this March, and of course I'll be stopping by Le Dessin. I'm planning to try a new menu this time too, but it will probably be a bit of a side-ditch curveball. Still, I'm really grateful to Chef Masuda for preparing such a wide variety of dishes, and to his wife for always welcoming us so warmly. There's always been a line at this restaurant, so I hope the wait doesn't get any longer. I don't usually go to restaurants without a reservation, and I don't like waiting in line to eat.

This month's recommended wine "Nebbiolo is not just Barolo and Barbaresco -- Piedmont's masterpiece, Gattinara --"

"Gattinara 2017 DOCG Gattinara Anzivino" 6,620 yen (excluding tax)

I would like to go to Bordeaux after Burgundy, but I would like to do four courses in that order, with some Italian wine in between.

As already explained, the Italian equivalent of Burgundy is a wine made from 100 % Nebbiolo grapes in Piedmont. In fact, just as Burgundy is called the "King of Wines," Barolo is also called the "King of Italian Wines." However, Barolo is the name of a village in Piedmont, and is like Vosne-Romanée in Burgundy. This is also called Barbaresco in Barolo, and in Burgundy it would be like Gevrey-Chambertin.

Moreover, Barolo and Barbaresco are located in the southern part of Piedmont, and there are also famous wines made from 100 % Nebbiolo grapes in the north, and we introduced the masterpiece "Genme" by the master winemaker Roverotti. In fact, there is another important region in the north. That is "Gattinara". So, let me introduce "Gattinara" this time.

In Burgundy's Côte d'Or, Nuits in the north is more suitable for producing fine red wines, and Beaune in the south, despite being home to Corton, Pommard and Volnay, is also a producer of fine white wines.However, in Piedmont, the spotlight is focused only on Barolo and Barbaresco from the Alba region in the south, and it is unfortunate that Ghemme and Gattinara in the north do not get any attention.

In his book "Italian Wine," Anderson describes Gattinara as having "an aroma of violets, a tarry nose, and a soft, bitter almond aftertaste."

This time we will introduce "Anzivino", a new cantina founded in 1999. The owner, who moved from Milan, bought an old monastery that was used for distilling spirits, and is making wine using traditional methods. Specifically, the wine is aged for three years in large barrels from Slovenia, and then for another year in the bottle. It is dry and aromatic, with a complex mineral taste, yet has a good balance of acidity and tannins for an elegant finish.

We hope you will take this opportunity to enjoy a glimpse of Nebbiolo's diverse potential.

Biography
Osamu Seki

Born in Tokyo in 1961. Currently a part-time lecturer at Meiji University and other institutions. Specializes in contemporary French thought and cultural theory. Director of the Reefer Wine Association.
His books include "An Introduction to Beautiful Men" (Natsume Shobo) and "My Neighbor is Arashi-kun" (Cyzo), and his translations include "How Should We Read Foucault?" by Oksara (Shinsensha) and "Mr. Pydrow, What Use Is a Gastronomic Critic?" by Pydrowski (Shinsensha).
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