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- Yoshimi Tanigawa
Tanigawa-san, the owner of Kichisen gets sometimes criticised by dinners from the West that he caters too much to them.
Nothing could be more wrong. A kaiseki meal is derived from the traditional tea ceremony and thus has to be not what the Chef wants it to be, but what the Chef thinks what the guest wants it to be. This is not playing to an audience but a deeply cultural compass which comes from studying besides transitional cuisine from Kyoto, Zen, poetry, flower arrangement and fragrances.
Very rarely one can get a dashi as light and fragrant while at the same time being very concentrated. His rice dishes which normally conclude the meal are equally balanced creations of flavour of the toppings and texture of the rice.
For me this is the epitome of Kyoto kaiseki.
9 / 10
