On the 2nd floor of GOOD NATURE STATION, there will be a premium gastronomy floor for new dining experiences. One of them, “VELROSIER”, continues to develop a new area of Chinese gastronomy with beautiful dishes like French and cooking methods incorporating the latest cooking utensils, with Chinese cuisine in the background. Yuji Iwasaki, a 35-year-old young chef who always seeks growth and does not stop creating, asked his passion for cooking as the driving force.

An original dish created by "addition"

For example, foie gras, one of the most popular items in the store, is put out in a can box with the store name like this. It looks like a high-class confectionery, but when you open the box, the fragrance of the clove drifts a bit like a Chinese dish. As symbolized by these effects, VELROSIER's cuisine is full of surprises.

In addition, this is not a dessert, but an appetizer dish that uses salmon. The shoe dough contains a Chinese-style seasoned strawberry paste, which is hard to imagine from the appearance, but it is interesting that you can feel it is a Chinese dish if you put it in your mouth.

Iwasaki: “My food is basically addition. When thinking about the menu, we decide on the main ingredients according to the season, and then connect them like a chain. If you use that, it will match ... That way, the last selected food and the first selected food will be connected and come back in a circle. However, since the main is Chinese food, I would like to leave the essence somewhere and have it understood. ''

When I was 25 years old, Chef Iwasaki wanted to become a world of gastronomy. While studying at the hotel, while searching for my own path, I drove at a French restaurant that won a three-star rating in Michelin. I am impressed with the various tastes that change from dish to dish, such as delicate heating, arrangement to entertain the eyes, and how to utilize the temperature difference. I ate various restaurants, read specialized books, and studied by myself.

I want to make something new

One of the specialty skills of Chef Iwasaki, who was born after such studies, is the “disassembly and reconstruction” of Chinese cuisine. What is used in cooking is “decomposed” into raw materials and “reconstructed” by adding new interpretations during cooking and seasoning.

For example, for dumplings, spread the chili steamed on a leek, put the pork mince and cabbage fried on top, and then cover it with steamed and grilled dumplings. And then add a jelly-shaped baked cabbage soup and sprinkle with leek ice powder. “I enjoyed the temperature difference and texture of the ingredients, and when I eat it, it becomes a refined dumpling,” as Iwasaki chef says, the ingredients used in the dumplings are made by a completely different cooking method. A re-arranged version. He says that his free ideas have received praise from top French and Italian chefs.

Underpinning the creation of Chef Iwasaki is the tireless desire to grow as a chef.

Iwasaki: “I graduated from high school and have been cooking Chinese food since I was 18 years old, and there is always a desire to create new things and create things. I decided not to cook. ”Actually, there are a lot of recipes that I thought about and received, but I don't use them at the store. Otherwise, you ca n’t create. ”

Chefs Iwasaki says that the feelings are reflected in the style and contents of the restaurant.

Iwasaki: “The current kitchen has no hot-powered Chinese range, wok, steamer, and so-called Chinese restaurant facilities. If anything, it's close to a French kitchen. I thought that it wouldn't work anymore because it would make anything, so I decided to stop it and do something completely different from what I used to cook and use ingredients. The volume and the number of items are not good for the customers, but to train them for the sake of the truth. If you do not manage the numbers, you will not be good.

Kyoto is a stage for stepping up

Chef Iwasaki pioneered a new field of fusing Chinese cuisine and gastronomy. The stage will move from Nishinomiya / Kurakuen, where we have shook his arms, to Kyoto where GOOD NATURE STATION is located.

Iwasaki: “When I started the store, I thought I would continue this way for 5 years and if I couldn't go back to normal Chinese food, it was somehow shaped, but it ’s still developing, so I think it is a stage for stepping up for 5 or 10 years, and there are many foreign tourists in Kyoto, and I want to think about how they react. I don't know if I will be told, but there are some scary parts, but I have to get over it.

Please look forward to seeing how Chef Iwasaki's restaurant and cuisine will come to Kyoto.