Kaiseki: The Exquisite Cuisine of Kyoto's Kikunoi Restaurant [Hardcover]

Yoshihiro Murata (Author), Masashi Kuma (Photographer), Nobu Matsuhisa (Foreword), Ferran Adria (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 8, 2006

In the same way that Kaiseki itself is a feast for the eyes as well as the palate, chef Murata's Kaiseki is at once a cookbook and a work of art. This sumptuously illustrated volume features-in seasonal format-the style of cooking that began as tea ceremony accompaniment and developed into the highest form of Japanese cuisine.

Kaiseki celebrates the natural ingredients of each season with a spectacular presentation. After a front section explaining the history and components of kaiseki cuisine, Yoshihiro Murata, the third generation owner/chef of Kyoto's famed Kikunoi restaurant, introduces the establishment's menu. With candidness and insight, he shares his thoughts on ingredients, preparation methods and the philosophy behind his dishes. He explains how the cuisine has changed over the years-and continues to do so. He even explains how some dishes evolved as he searched for the proper combination of ingredients. Approximately twenty dishes from each season, chosen by chef Murata, have been lovingly and carefully photographed to convey the experience of being a guest at the Kikunoi restaurant. The book also features a glossary of kaiseki terms and exact recipes from the Kikunoi kitchen.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"If it has ever occurred to you, as it has to me lately, how the food of some superstar French and Spanish chefs leads right back to the Japanese tradition of exquisite little plates called kaiseki, this book confirms that idea. Preparing the food beautifully photographed in the lush KAISEKI by Kyoto restaurateur Yoshihiro Murata is almost beside the point; understanding, and salivating, is."
-Newsweek

"Visually stunning... Each dish is a beautiful example of the Japanese cooking art form, Kaiseki."
-Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

A stunning journey in dazzling photos and insightful text through the courses of Japan's most elegant and artistic cuisine.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Kodansha International (September 8, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 4770030223
• ISBN-13: 978-4770030221
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 1 x 11.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #730,131 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Gorgeous. Sensual. But probably not for dinner tonight. May 13, 2007

By Esther Schindler TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

I have two sorts of cookbooks in my collection. There are the books that I cook from, in which many pages have food stains, folded-down corners, and bindings that fall open to favorite recipes. I also have cookbooks that I consider "picture books." Sure, they have recipes, but I look at them primarily for inspiration or entertainment or fantasy ("Yeah, like I'm gonna cook something with two pounds of fois gras!" or "That's over the top, but isn't it beautiful?"). I rarely cook anything from the picture books, but that's okay; I enjoy them nonetheless.

Kaiseki is very much in the latter category. If this book isn't nominated for an award on visual merit alone, I shall be appalled. Photographically, it's simply stunning. If you appreciate how beautifully food can be presented... well, it earns its five stars right there. It's also a stunning example of how good Japanese food can be; many of the photos make me yearn to consume them.

The cookbook is organized in an unusual manner. The recipes are all in the back of the book, in small type (too small, I think). Most of the book is given over to the delicious photos, menus, and text. The text is largely what you'd expect as a long headnote in a regular cookbook. For example, you get two long paragraphs about the seasonality of fresh bamboo shoots, accompanying a blow-you-away picture of bamboo shoot sushi (it looks like a bird of paradise flower arrangement). These sections are divided into Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter, reflecting the restaurant's focus on eating whatever is ripe right now.

I can't imagine that I'm going to cook anything here, though. The author doesn't try to Americanize anything, or to suggest "if you can't find sea bream, substitute [something else]." It's definitely a Japanese book. Maybe, if you have more Asian markets than I do and you know the cuisine better, you're better able to contemplate the recipes. If so, you'll probably be interested in steamed tilefish with fresh green tea leaves; or abalone in a salt dome; or fresh black soybean skewered on pine needles.

But don't worry if your ability to make these recipes is as distant as my own. Kaiseki may spend more time on your coffee table than in your kitchen, and that's okay. This is a gorgeous, gorgeous book, and well worth it for anyone who simply loves to admire food treated well. It would make a superb present for any foodie, too.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Elegant Zen May 9, 2007

By Bonne L. Holbrook

Format:Hardcover

Yoshihiro Murata's "Kaiseki" is a real beauty. It provides a walk through the most elegant of Japanese cuisines, showing off the fine purity of the tea ceremony meal with all of it's evocative wabi/sabi aesthetic. The photographs are stunning and well worth a perusal. The actual recipes are pretty arcane (I would refer the home cook to Tsuji's "Japanese Cooking" or Vitell's "The World in a Bowl of Tea"), but this will be a real addition to a cook's library or to the Japanophile.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning. January 10, 2008

By D. Simmons

Format:Hardcover

This is the most beautiful cookbook I own. Stunning photography and lovely design captures the spirit of this immaculate cuisine perfectly. Many of the ingredients used in the recipes will be hard to find if you're not living in Japan, but this is unlikely to be a book you'll cook from on a daily basis anyway. It acts more as a source of inspiration and has changed and informed the way I think about technique and presentation, not just of Japanese food, but everything I cook. A must-buy.