Exceptional local-production, local-consumption cuisine

My interest piqued by several articles I’d read about this Auberge, I went to see for myself, but I was completely overwhelmed by the cuisine, which was far beyond what I had imagined. Deep in the mountains of Toyama Prefecture, Togamura is difficult to access, and to the same degree, impressive for its natural environment. An hour by car from Toyama station, on the day I visited, a light powdery snow was falling; the peaks and valleys coated in their blanket of snow were as beautiful as they were harsh, and I really felt the sensation of having gone deep into the bosom of the snowy mountain. And yet, the cuisine completely unseated this sense of isolation.

Eiji Taniguchi, owner-chef of Auberge L’evo, born in Osaka and trained in France, has said in many interviews that he decided to open a restaurant in Togamura village because in Toyama’s nature, climate and ingredients he found a source of richness that awakened his own culinary ideas. Toyama certainly is blessed with the bounty of both mountain and sea. The deep sea right off of Toyama Bay is full of a variety of marine products. There are plenty of wild animals in the mountains, and a treasure trove of cultivated local plants as well as the edible wild plants known generally as sansai.

Wild game such as bear, deer, boar, and pheasant are purchased directly from local contract hunters and stored in a sanitary and scrupulously controlled dry aging chamber. I was allowed a glimpse through the window, and sure enough, hanging within were the neatly processed carcasses of deer and bear. Both sake and wine have been meticulously selected from those produced in Toyama and carefully stored in the wine cellar. This experience reminded me of an unforgettable culinary encounter I had at the Copenhagen restaurant noma, one which completely reconstructed my understanding of cuisine.

Each time another dish arrived, I was awestruck by the scene, including the tableware. Any words of praise for the food that I might be able to string together here would not even begin to come close to doing justice to the cuisine. However, to be honest, I am astounded by the work that goes into carefully examining local products and transforming them into something of even more exceptional value. To call it culinary talent would be an understatement, but imagining the process that begins with finding the ingredients and culminates in their ultimate expression, I can’t help but consider the enormous amount of energy that goes into it. Excellence always requires a considerable amount of time and effort.

I was impressed by the contrast in texture between the thinly sliced meat of the legs of the giant Pacific octopus and that of their suckers. As for the bear meat, the red meat was served in a sauce of honey and bear soup stock, while the fatty meat was thinly sliced and served in a shabu-shabu style. All of these dishes were stunning. The highlight was a dish of "L’evo chicken". The chicken had been carefully raised with special feed by a partner farmer. In this dish, tightly wrapped in chicken skin were the thigh and breast meat, along with bear fat and sticky rice. The warm juices released by the supple morsel upon first bite were delectable.

I was also impressed by the rare, handmade Okado somen noodles, served in a narrow-mouthed bowl. The noodles were of the semi-dried variety and cooked al dente. The pale soup was a mix of goat cheese broth and green butterbur stalk oil, which lent the dish a gentle flavor and a faint hint of spring bitterness. Next came lean venison cooked to perfection.The knife, which had been carefully designed and made to fit comfortably in the diner’s hand, was also brilliantly sharp. Accompanying the meat was fried ebi-imo (shrimp-shaped taro potato) and kuwai (arrowhead, an edible aquatic plant). On the side was spinach served in the traditional Japanese home-style manner, whole with roots.

The property includes the restaurant building, three villas, bread hut, and a sauna building. The villas are tastefully decorated and have large windows that at the time of my visit revealed a snowy landscape. The owner-chef's discernment is evident in the lobby and guest room furnishings, as well as in the restaurant’s furniture, tableware, and cutlery. I visited only for lunch this time, but would definitely like to stay the night next time, giving my body some respite and focusing all five senses on L’evo’s cuisine.

2023.4.3