If you want to visit Auberge Auf, the youngest ever winner of the RED U-35 competition, a gateway for young chefs, and which has now been selected as a Destination Restaurant of 2025, now is the time.

A supreme restaurant in the middle of Satoyama

On May 28th, I went to Auberge eaufeu in Kannon Shitamachi, Komatsu City, Ishikawa Prefecture, which had just been selected as one of the 2025 award-winning restaurants in the "Destination Restaurants" announced annually by the Japan Times.

It is only a 20-minute drive from Komatsu Station on the Hokuriku Shinkansen line and a 30-minute drive from Komatsu Airport. It can be reached in just over three hours from Tokyo.

It's been almost three years since the restaurant opened, and at just 32 years old, Chef Shota Itoi is at the forefront of Hokuriku gastronomy, with his skills continuing to improve.

To start with, I would like to point out that Michelin hasn't visited Hokuriku for many years, so the guide won't be updated, but if it did come, it would be a sure bet that the restaurant would win a star.

This facility, a former elementary school that was renovated, is an auberge where you can stay overnight. As a result of depopulation, there is really nothing around. There is only a small village, an old stone quarry, and a little distance away, the sake brewery of the Noguchi Naohiko Research Institute, known as the "god of sake brewing."

The fresh greenery of the nearby hills and the rice fields where rice has already been planted are beautiful. At the auberge, apart from the occasional car passing by, there is no artificial sound to be heard. Only the chirps of birds and the croaking of frogs. Just arriving here gives you a sense of openness that makes you want to stretch your back. The air is good.

A dish that strips away all the unnecessary things

I want to get into dinner right away.

At the beginning, there is a presentation of the vegetables that will be used that day. Although the season for wild vegetables has passed, there are still many kinds of wild herbs mixed in with the local vegetables. They are still fresh, so they must have been picked nearby in the morning.

After several amuse-bouches, broad beans were brought out. The boiled broad beans were wrapped in homemade yuba (tofu skin) made from soybeans grown in Komatsu. The seasoning was simple, with just olive oil and salt. The sweetness of the beans and the richness of the yuba, along with the right amount of salt, were perfectly balanced. Even though the dish had been stripped of all unnecessary ingredients, it was incredibly rich and had a deep aftertaste.

More than anything, my body was filled with joy after ingesting this. Just this prologue made me think that it was worth coming all the way from Tokyo.

The pairing was "SHOCHU2022" from Noguchi Naohiko Laboratory. The deep flavor of shochu made from sake lees cuts down the viscosity of the yuba.

"Sardines and Potatoes" is a dish of marinated sardines sandwiched between potato crackers. The sticky, mature marinated sardines mixed with the crunchy potatoes create a pleasant sensation in the mouth. Moreover, the seasonings are full of fermented foods such as wild chickweed, sake lees paste, cream cheese, and anchovies...

The sense of unity is like a puzzle of flavors fitting together in just the right places, and it gives you a real sense of divine sensibility.

"We don't let ingredients travel."

How did Chef Itoi become what he is? His starting point was the Tsuji Culinary Institute, and after graduating he went to France and trained at the three-star Auberge de L'Isle in Alsace, and later went on to train at the three-star French Laundry in the United States and the now-closed three-star Manresa.

He established the foundations of his cuisine at Tsujicho and in France, and was exposed to the freedom of cooking in America. Perhaps without his experience in America, Chef Itoi would not be the person he is today.

In 2018, at the age of 35, he became the youngest winner in history at the RED U-26 contest, which is considered a gateway to success for young athletes. This truly is the epitome of the lucky winner.

However, it was Satoyama that ultimately awakened him and unleashed his talent.

First of all, there is mineral-rich water, wild flowers, roots and nuts, vegetables from nearby farms, wild game, meat and fish all within close proximity.

"Not letting the ingredients travel" (chef) must be the ultimate ideal condition for a chef. And above all, it directly translates to deliciousness. Therein lies the potential of regional gastronomy that cannot be expected in the city.

The chef says, "After three years here, I've finally started to understand the meaning of doing things here. I've come to understand the seasons when certain wild plants are found there, and the cycles of the farmers. Most of the ingredients come from around here. At the very least, they're from Niigata or Kyoto."

The environmental impact would be minimal.

Amazing creative imagination

What was interesting was the loach. Semi-farmed loaches, raised in the clean waters of the land, are soaked in Noguchi's shochu to turn them into drunken loaches. They are then wrapped in rice flour and deep-fried (perhaps the idea came from Chinese cuisine?). They are fried clean and odorless at all. They are eaten with a fermented dip made from homemade sweet sake, homemade yogurt, homemade yuzu kosho, and wild mugwort.

Anyone who eats the food will be grateful for the blessings of the land. And you can tell from each dish that the chef's creative imagination is soaring when he comes into contact with the vibrant ingredients of this land every day. It's amazing.

I would like to introduce all the products, but I will shorten it considerably.

The author was also captivated by the "Red Squid Tomato." Slices of "Petit Puyo" cherry tomatoes, which are particularly sweet, are layered with squid somen noodles underneath. Kaffir lime and sudachi are lightly squeezed, and the tomato juice adds sweetness. The green accent on top is the wild herb Myogatake mushroom, which has a similar refreshing feeling to myoga and allows you to taste the strength of the mountains.

The "Rock Oysters and Snap Peas" is also unforgettable. Rock oysters and snap peas are grilled over charcoal. The sauce made with perilla and salted green plums is similar to pesto, but the balance of the spicy flavor of the green plums is genius. It is garnished with boiled wild vetch flowers.

The layers and complementarity of flavors in both of these dishes are amazing. I can't tell you how many times I muttered "delicious" every time I took a bite.

The DNA sleeping deep inside is stirred up

The chef thinks simply, aiming for delicious food. After all, cooking is all about ingredients. If you walk through the fields and mountains, you will come across ingredients. As the seasons change, the changes are endless. The chef's senses will be sharpened. To this, vegetables delivered directly from the farmer will be added, as well as fish and meat delivered directly from the farmer.

His confident dexterity in bringing out the inherent flavor of each ingredient and creating one-of-a-kind dishes is reminiscent of Chef Kobayashi Kanji of Villa Aida in Wakayama.

Another thing I thought was that the Japanese have been picking and eating wild plants since ancient times. The reason why Chef Itoi's food stirs the soul of the eater is not only because it is so delicious, but also because it stirs the DNA that lies deep within us.

The flavor remains on the tongue even after a week

Even now, a week later, the deliciousness of the deer and mountain vegetables is still etched in my taste buds.

The venison is pounded over straw and sprinkled with parsley and wild parsley. The wild parsley adds a minty freshness. The cooking of the venison is amazing. The fried wild parsley roots bring out the layers of the dish. And the consommé made from the venison brings everything together, drawing you into the depths of the dish.

"Oof Maki" is a type of taco, and has been a specialty of the restaurant since it first opened. The shell and filling change with the seasons, making it the perfect dish to enjoy the seasonal flavors.

With the new greenery coming out now, spinach and thistles from the mountains were kneaded into the dough to create a green image. The ingredients are leafy vegetables from Nishida Farm, Chinese cabbage marinated in rice bran, coriander, mint, lamb sausage from Mt. Hakusan, herbs, and wild bay leaves. A tomato-based orange sauce was added.

I felt that it was a good idea to pair it with Noguchi's 17-year-old vintage sake, which was served hot.

Food with a nice aroma and heat

The "Namera Warabi" was a real hit. "Namera" is the name of red spotted grouper. The skin was grilled until fragrant, and the garnish was made of mountain-picked warabi lightly roasted over charcoal. The sauce was clam stock, capers, chives, and fermented onion on top of the namera, and flavored with lemon juice and lemon peel.

Grilling red snapper is supposed to be difficult, but the fish was hot, bouncy and bouncy, and the flavor was almost unbelievable.

What makes Chef Itoi's cooking seem far removed from French cuisine is first its aroma. Generally speaking, French cuisine is extremely rare in terms of its aroma. It is an art that unfolds in the mouth. Chef Itoi's cooking has a rich, fragrant aroma. Another characteristic is that the food is hot even when it should be. Westerners, who tend to have sensitive tongues, don't cook food hot.

The last main course, "Wild Boar Spinach," was a wild boar grilled over a charcoal fire and wood fire, with a crispy crust and rare cooking that was dripping with blood. The sauce made from the boar's bones and scraps was rich and flavorful. It could be said to be the most classic dish, but the sauce was made with shallots and mustard seeds, which made it even more delicious.

The Italian red wine "CARDIN" that was paired with it was rich and full-bodied, bringing out the wildness of the boar.

I was also surprised by the originality of the dessert "Strawberry Kuromoji." It is a tart made with strawberry compote and dried Kuromoji leaves, a medicinal herb found in the mountains. It is topped with a compote of Japanese knotweed, a medicinal herb. It is served with ice cream flavored with Kuromoji.

The amazing thing about cooking with just the bare minimum

"Recently, when I'm cooking, I often think, 'This is what I don't need.' I've started thinking about cutting out ingredients and adding only the bare minimum."

" I heard Chef Itoi say this. It's easier said than done. However, after eating every dish tonight, I found myself saying "I see," and deeply understanding.

Finally, I would like to mention the accommodations. There is a cafe on the first floor that serves Chef Itoi's special hamburger steak. Anyone can drop in here. There is a dining area at the back, and there are 12 guest rooms on the second and third floors.

Each room is mainly in earthy colors of beige, brown, and white, and is neat and refreshing. The windows of the former classrooms are large. It is interesting that the blackboards are still painted white.

Perhaps it was the clean air and silence that made waking up feel more comfortable than ever before.

Starting in April this year, guests can enjoy breakfast at their leisure, either indoors or outdoors, with a breakfast basket in hand. The menu includes salads, juices, hot soups, pastries and other chef-selected items.

This is definitely an auberge you'll want to return to again and again.

Auberge "eaufeu"

Address: 48 Kanon Shimomachiguchi, Komatsu City, Ishikawa Prefecture
TEL: 0761-41-7080
Business hours: (Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and public holidays) 18:00-22:00, (Saturday and Sunday only) 12:00-15:00
Closed: Tuesdays and Wednesdays

Lunch: From 15,000 yen (tax and service charge not included)
Dinner: From 15,000 yen (tax and service charge not included)
Accommodation (45,600 night with XNUMX meals, per person for XNUMX people sharing a room): From XNUMX yen (tax and service charge included)