Gastronomy event "GENUSS-MESSE" in Vienna with the participation of Japan's representative, Chef Keiko Kuwakino = Part 1

On September 17 and 18, 2022, the gastronomy event "Genouse-Messe " was held in Vienna, Austria.
Keiko Kuwakino of "Satoyama Jucho," winner of the "Terroir Award" at "Gault et Millau 2022," was invited as the only Asian representative to this event, which brought together more than 100 renowned chefs from Europe and beyond.

The "Genuss-Messe" is a major food-focused project held annually by "Gault et Millau Austria". The aim is to increase the number of gastronomy fans and to pass on the tradition of gastronomy as a culture to the next generation by providing opportunities for more people to experience world-class "haute cuisine" made with the best ingredients and techniques.

This philosophy of "Gault et Millau Austria" has been shared by many chefs, and a total of more than 100 internationally acclaimed chefs, including those from restaurants that have received the highest "5 Toc" rating from "Gault et Millau", have participated. In addition, more than 60 wineries, breweries, and distilleries from neighboring countries, as well as more than 40 exhibitors who brought their regional specialties and prized products, centering on Austrian wines, which have been gaining worldwide recognition in recent years.

The venue featured a stage-type show kitchen where this year's notable chefs gave demonstrations, food booths where chefs changed every two hours and prepared and served their original dishes on the spot, and permanent booths where attendees could sample products such as drinks, cured ham, and sausages. This is a festival-like event where participants can enjoy free drinks and free food all day long.

Keiko Kuwakino, the only guest chef from Asia, is the head chef of "Satoyama Jucho," a hot spring inn in Niigata. Her cuisine, based on the concept of "Sanaburi," which means living with nature, understanding the mountain ecosystem, and sharing the joy of food with the local community that has been passed down from generation to generation, is highly regarded in Japan and abroad as sustainable cuisine that is kind to both humans and the earth, and that helps regulate the body and mind.

This time, Mr. Kuwakino was asked to pass on Eastern culture, which is different from the West. And an approach to nature that cannot be obtained in an urban restaurant. As if to express the high expectations, the food booth was the widest and best position for guests to gather (and line up), and food celebrities gathered for demonstrations in the show kitchen.

We thought, "If we are going to convey the wisdom of the satoyama lifestyle, where people live their lives daily with the blessings of the mountains and forests, in a city like Vienna, we should project it onto vegetables grown in the area. In order to convey Japanese food culture, we brought in the minimum necessary items from Japan, but we sourced all the main vegetables from Austria, which is familiar to our customers," Kuwakino said.

The dish presented at the show kitchen (30 meals) was "Austrian Fruit Tofu with White Sauce. Tofu, which in recent years has become known in Europe as a healthy food but is still not well known in ordinary households, was arranged in a way that made it easy for Europeans to enjoy.

At the food booth, which prepared 300 meals, "Gargouille" style " Vegetable with Sesame Sauce, " in which more than 10 kinds of vegetables were cooked individually to highlight their unique flavors, was served. The aroma of sesame slowly cooked in a mortar and pestle brought from Japan, rather than in a food processor that prioritizes functionality, seemed to attract people from both the East and the West. Visitors lined up at the booth even before the start of the event.

Jürgen Schmücking, a well-known foodie who heads the research team of "Go & Milo Austria," said, "It has an exotic oriental charm, but also a universal taste that is easy to eat and familiar to many people. With vegetables and fruits as the main ingredients, these dishes, which have a low environmental impact and are good for human health, will be in even greater demand in the future," he said.

I want to experience as much of Austria's food culture as possible and understand the potential of Austrian ingredients," said Kuwakino, wondering where he discovered what kind of food he was looking for.

In the second part, we will tell you about Kuwakino's happy encounter with food and the people surrounding it.

Photos and text by Shifumi Eto