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‘Lonely Gourmet’ provides food for thought
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At a cafe close to my home I’ve recently got into the habit of eating a meal, then watching an episode of Japanese drama series “Lonely Gourmet” on my smartphone.
I’ve spent time after dinner over the past fortnight savoring the show starring Yutaka Matsushige. It features lonesome trader Goro Inogashira’s “voyage d’un gourmet en Japan.”
Inogashira travels around Japan, meeting clients to take or deliver their orders — everything from a tobacco pipe imported from Italy to restored vintage furniture. After completing his work the lonely gourmet goes in search of restaurants in the vicinity — embarking on a solitary food adventure.
In the 49 episodes to date, Inogashira has tried dishes spanning the globe, from China to France, Italy to India. He tucks into everything from South Korean ginseng chicken soup to Afghan-style lamb skewers. Mostly he eats at simple streetside eateries with only three or four tables — though one bakery had only a single stool at the entrance for customers.
Prices range from 200 Japanese yen (US$1.66) to around 1,000 yen. In other words, they are very much everyday delicacies, with nothing to do with Michelin stars.
However humble, Inogashira treats them as if he has stumbled upon hidden treasure. This is one of the joys of the show that viwers who have retained a childlike enthusiasm for life best understand. Inogashira’s enthusiasm is infectious, turning every step of the ordering process made into a ritual. And when the dishes finally arrive, he whispers “Let me start!” before getting down to the business of devouring his meal.
Part of the show’s appeal is that while Inogashira is having fun, he takes the whole process seriously and respectfully — as do the cooks, waiting staff and other diners. Many of the restaurants he visits have histories going back decades. While the menus on the wall and the tables and stools may bear marks of the passing of time, premises are spotless, testament to the pride staff take in their work.
And of course every restaurant has its own stories, At one restaurant specializing in French cuisine, Inogashira is told that the couple next to him have been regulars since coming there on their first date more than a decade ago — and, romantics that they are, they still order the same dishes that they had on that night.
Inogashira’s culinary odyssey reminds us that a wonderful meal is a precious gift from Nature and the people involved in providing the ingredients and making a dish that comforts both our stomachs and minds.
A report once estimated that as many as 10,000 people were involved in producing a normal-sized birthday cake — from farmers planting wheat for flour and raising cattle and chicken for cream and eggs, through to pastry chefs making the cake.
That’s why we should, like Inogashira, express our respect and gratitude for every meal we enjoy, remembering all the effort behind it.
The drama is based on a manga series, and in the comic book version Inogashira has to spend time in hospital. But he wasn’t downhearted because he really enjoyed the hospital food. While in hospital, he notices that the elderly man in the next bed strives to eat as much as he could in an attempt to get stronger and survive. This poignant moment illustrates how relations to food can symbolize strength, determination and tenacity.
The show’s narrator says that dining alone can epitomize independence, offering a chance to indulge oneself and providing a remedy for the pressures of modern life.
Making this time for oneself is seen as a fun thing to do, for example when the “Meal for One” filmlet series was aired through the Weibo microblog and the back seat screens in local cabs.
In the series people would spend hours cooking meals they would, then eat alone, striking a chord with many people in our more solitary society.
Around the same time, popular documentary series “A Bite of China” featured food from around the country. For many viewers, the most attractive part for each episode was not the taste of the dishes introduced, but the stories of the people behind them.
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