The cuisine of Chef Matsuyama is seasonally oriented, and the courses change every month. For example in February, the menu starts with daikon radish with shiro miso as a warm appetizer. Then moves to the first rice dish, then a crab soup, sashimi dishes, hassun, Chateaubriand (finished on a charcoal grill after a three hour sous vide bath at 57℃), spring shoots salad, fried bamboo shoots, and the second rice dish and soup. The menu finishes with a seasonal dessert, which this time is strawberry mochi made a la minute in front of you.

For the first daikon dish, the variety of Daikon used is Aokubi Daikon, which Kitakyushu is famous for producing. An example sashimi dish in February is wild-caught local hirame, which Chef aged for about two days. It is presented rolled like a camellia flower, garnished with Miyazaki’s red finger lime in the center, and served on a camellia-pattern Kyoyaki ware dish.

The vessel used for arranging hassun was specially ordered by Chef Matsuyama. The theme is the Setsubun Festival, which is held at the end of winter and is celebrated by people praying for happiness by tossing beans and yelling, “Fortune in! Evil out!”. The “Oni”, devil, is drawn on the outside of the vessel. All of this culture is packed and shown on the plate, and Chef is happy to explain why people decorate entrances with sardines and spiky holly leaves on the day of the festival.

The rice is cooked in an earthenware pot made by Kumoi-gama, a kiln famous for producing Shigaraki ware. The pot is called Yume Sansai, which is glazed with three colors. The last rice dish is served with irresistible condiments that you must try, even if you are full: red-wine simmered wagyu fillets, two-hour soy sauce marinated egg yolks, house-made chirimen-jako (tiny dried sardines), and cabbage pickles. This cabbage is called Wakamatsu Shiokaze Kyabetsu, which is locally grown and is exposed to the salty ocean breezes. The rich flavor and natural sweetness are superb, and he often uses it as an ingredient in the soup, too.

Chef Matsuyama usually does not serve tempura, sushi, or unagi on his menus, unless there is a specific reason to do so. He believes those items require a high degree of specialty to prepare properly. But the bamboo shoot dish in February was one of those exceptions, because he found that deep-frying highlighted the freshness of the local bamboo shoots best. Therefore, he deep fries them by coating with kudzu starch.

Chef personally selects the sakes that provide the best balance to his cuisine, and the pairings present 10 to 12 kinds of sake.

INGREDIENTS
Chef Matsuyama uses the local ingredients of Kitakyushu, and features them prominently on his menu, which is approximately 60 percent local. Each dish contains at least one local ingredient.

He prefers a variety of rice called Genki Tsukushi which is also locally grown. The grain is relatively large, and the rice has a pleasant “sticky” texture and retains its flavor even when cooled. He also prefers to use locally caught seafood, such as that from Kanmon Straits.

His favorite turnip, a local red turnip, is grown using the slash-and burn agriculture method that results in turnips high in umami─glutamic acid. Wakamatsu Shiokaze Kyabetsu is the special cabbage grown by using oyster shells and sea water. The eggs are super fresh, pasture raised in Fukuoka. He strives to use local vegetables such as Aokubi Daikon, tomatoes, and Chinese cabbages, and he ensures the high quality by visiting those local farmers in person.