Katsuhiko Kurashima

The roots of the birth of a pastry chef

My family ran a Japanese confectionery store in Joetsu City, Niigata, but my father, the third generation, wanted to become a confectioner and trained in Tokyo for several years before returning to the family to take over the business. My father, who was the third generation of the family, wanted to become a Western confectioner and trained for several years in Tokyo.

I heard that the business was good in the beginning when western confectioneries were rare, but the demand for Japanese confectioneries grew, probably due to the local characteristics, and by the time the store closed, western confectioneries were hardly selling. My father never told me this directly, but I think he wanted his son to succeed in the world of Western confectionaries, which he had longed for.

But I didn't enter the pastry business for my father's sake either. I want to express my own sweets for myself and my family. That's why I decided not to return to Niigata, but to train in France and then compete in Tokyo.

The present state of "Le Pont des Amis

This restaurant is now in its fifth year. It's not that big, but we usually have an anniversary sale in October and create a limited menu just for that day.

My previous store was located in Shirokanedai, so it didn't have much of a living atmosphere, or rather, it was selling a fashionable image, but since coming to Itabashi, I have been making products for families in a residential area, so the confectionery products have also changed.

However, I don't want to be influenced by the trends of the time, and since it is my own store, I can make my own judgments and decisions. I want to make what I really want to make and be appreciated by my customers.

Confectionery is a reflection of my life, isn't it?

The sweets I made in my 20s while learning from others, the ones I made when I first became a chef 15 years ago, and the ones I've made since owning my own store are all completely different.

If my sensibilities have changed, my taste buds have changed as well. There is no one dish that is the same as when I was at the restaurant before, due to the technological advancement in the background.

I like the combination of fruit and chocolate, or fruit and something else. Of course, the taste of the confectionary itself is inevitable, but I think the visual aspect is also a big part of taste. By decorating with fruit, I want to convey the taste before it even enters the mouth.

Up until about ten years ago, I wanted people to think the sweets I made were beautiful, but now I want people to think they look delicious as well.

For example, if a cake looks too shiny and shiny, it may not make people want to eat it, but by decorating it with fruits and creams, I think it can make it look "delicious.

The "showcase" of my life

I don't know now what I will be interested in or what kind of sweets I will be making in 5 or 10 years.

I think that making food, not just sweets, shows your personality. Making sweets is a form of self-expression, so to put it bluntly, the showcase in your store is a showcase of who you are now, a showcase of your life. That's why I'm gradually decreasing the number of times I go to other stores to learn or try new foods. I don't look at recipes or textbooks anymore, and I feel that I have to be supported by my own creations and my own sweets.

The opinions and feedback from my wife and children are very important to me. Of course, I have my staff taste the products, but the way a professional feels about a product is completely different from the way an average person or consumer feels about it. A professional's point of view is somewhat specialized and maniacal, but the neutral opinion of an amateur is very valuable.

In the end, it is a valuable source of information for me to think about how I can incorporate them into my own confectionaries.

The Future with Sweets

Sweets are a means of self-expression that I can use to make my customers happy. No matter how old I get, no matter how many years pass, the joy I feel when a customer says, "It's delicious.

I am paid to make sweets as a professional, and now that I have a staff, I think the most important thing is to stabilize the business and keep it going.

Thanks to you, I feel that the number of repeat customers is gradually increasing. I would like to continue to learn more and grow together with my staff in order to have a longer lasting relationship with them.

When I was in my twenties, I used to think about sweets all the time and devote myself to making sweets without a break. That was the foundation of who I am today, and I believe it was a mistake.

However, I want the young staff of today to enrich their lives by seeing, hearing, and experiencing many things other than sweets.

To make this possible, we always take two days off a week, no matter how busy we are. I believe that if you have a large capacity as a person, it will definitely show in the sweets you make.

I've been in this industry for 26 years now, and I have a good amount of experience in making sweets. But I like making sweets, so I don't really have a favorite or a specialty among sweets.

Of course, the work is hard and I'm sleepy. But I feel like doing it.

I'm sure I'll be able to live with this job for the rest of my life.

Text and photos by Tsutomu Ogasawara