Pizza - Yoshihiro Imai

[bunniefuu]

[gentle music playing]

[leaves rustling]

[man, in Japanese]
One day, I was watching the news.

The MLB player Ichiro Suzuki was asked,
"Why did you choose baseball?"

He said, "Because baseball found me."

For me, it's the same.

I'm often asked by customers and others,

"Why did you choose pizza?"

I never thought
I would get into making pizza.

I entered the culinary world

as if something were pulling me in.

Even though I've made many choices
along the way,

I don't feel like I'm the one
behind the wheel, driving my life.

[music swells]

[man] Instead of going somewhere
with a goal in mind,

the path itself
is the meaning and the goal.

[Vivaldi's "Winter" concerto playing]

[woman , in English] In Japanese culture,
there's a word, wa.

And it means "harmony."

So you're brought up to be
in harmony with the nature.

[peaceful string music plays]

[Emmy] The community around you.

The seasons.

It's a very Zen concept.

At Monk,
Chef Imai is taking it a step further.

[woman , in Japanese] I don't think
many people go to Monk to eat pizza.

They go to experience
Chef Imai's worldview.

When you sit at the counter,
Chef Imai is right there.

Everybody watches
as he does his magic by the fire.

The pizza is very Yoshihiro,
very Monk, very Kyoto.

It's a simple pizza
with peak seasonal ingredients.

It lets you taste the deliciousness
of the dough and the fire.

It's born of a traditional
Japanese way of thinking…

but at the same time,
he's open-minded in doing new things.

[Emmy, in English] The omakase at Monk,
it's inspired by kaiseki.

With tea ceremony kaiseki,
it starts with a little bite of rice

and a simple soup.

At Monk, it starts with pizza dough

grilled in the oven and topped
with olive oil and Parmigiano.

He's replacing
what would be the rice with pizza.

He's following this classical format,

but within that, he's doing all sorts
of things that you've never seen before.

[gentle instrumental music playing]

[in Japanese] I first met Mr. Imai
in the fields of Ohara.

Mr. Imai goes to the mountains
every day to obtain ingredients.

He treasures and uses every part,

from the buds, to the fruits,
to the leaves.

He extracts the best
out of each ingredient in his cooking.

[Emmy, in English]
Chef Imai is doing things

with a very serious and dedicated manner.

But at the same time, he's loose
and he brings in spontaneity.

He has passion.

I think that's where Monk resonates
with so many people.

[water trickling gently]

[Yoshihiro, in Japanese] The world of
the tea ceremony started years ago

in the age of the samurai.

When you enter the tea room,

you go through a small door
called a nijiriguchi.

[gentle music playing]

Samurai could only enter
if they removed their swords.

Ego, vanity,
and any titles get left behind

when you face the tea.

[Yoshihiro, in Japanese] The warlords
face each other to drink tea.

In those times, they may have had
to go into battle the next day.

They might never again see the person
with whom they are drinking tea.

It's a moment that will come only once.

In that moment…

one's life in the present
comes into clarity.

[bubbling gently]

[Yoshihiro, in Japanese] How can I share
that mindful feeling with my guests?

[pensive instrumental music playing]

[fire crackling]

[Yoshihiro] For two and a half hours,
my guests watch the fire and eat,

and the ingredients shine.

I have small conversations
and interactions with the guests.

My guests get to feel something
in that space

that will happen only once.

At that moment right here,
it's like a miracle.

I just hope it will stay in a corner
of those people's memories.

[music fades out]

[man, in Japanese]
I hope we can pick a lot today.

Your shoes.

-Here.
-[Imai] Thank you. Thank you so much.

Here we go.

Here we go. Shall we get going?

Here we go.

[Yoshihiro] The first time I met Sasaki
was when he came to Monk as a customer.

He said he was a mushroom forager.

[Sasaki] We can go this way.

[Yoshihiro] We began talking
and really hit it off.

I started visiting Sasaki in Iwate.

[gentle music playing]

[Yoshihiro] Iwate is where Sasaki's family
have lived for generations.

He walks through
the same forest as his ancestors.

[Sasaki] Here we are.
Forgive us for trespassing.

[Yoshihiro] Thank you for letting us in.

[Yoshihiro chuckles]

Here.

[Yoshihiro] The mushrooms
have been growing

under similar conditions since way back.

I wonder if generations of ancestors
harvested them in the same way.

When I go into the forest,
I feel my senses opening up.

The things that I touch or smell

seem to feel, smell, or sound
different from normal.

Indeed, when I receive mushrooms
from Sasaki, I do get very excited.

The colors and shapes of the mushrooms…

are all different every time.

The depth of flavor
and intensity of umami.

They are completely different
from farmed mushrooms.

There is a deliciousness
that awakens your mind.

It would be hard
for everyone to live like Sasaki,

but if I could share even a small fraction
of Sasaki's feeling with my customers,

I would be very happy.

[gentle music continues playing]

[music fades out]

[birdsong]

[Yoshihiro] I was born and raised
in a rural town north of Tokyo.

Near our house,
there was a small forest and a river.

I used to walk alone in the forest.

[car engine starts]

[Japanese hip-hop music plays]

[Yoshihiro] All the other kids
were playing soccer,

but I'd rather spend my time walking

alone in the woods.

[woman, in Japanese]
Yoshihiro grew up in a family of dentists.

Yoshihiro's father is a dentist.

And his grandfather was also a dentist.

In Japanese society, the oldest son is
expected to continue the family business.

[Yoshihiro] My father is a dentist
and my family is full of dentists.

I thought
if I followed in their footsteps,

it would make my parents happy.

I remember I would stare at the ceiling

thinking about what the future held
before I fell asleep.

[hip-hop music continues]

[Yoshihiro] However, I had a feeling

there was another path for me.

[music fades out]

[Yoshihiro] "A gust of wind blew past."

"The grass hissed. The leaves rustled."

"The trees groaned."

"'I'm starving.'"

"'My sides are starting to hurt.'"

"'Mine too.
I don't want to walk much farther.'"

"'Me neither. What do we do?
I want something to eat.'"

"'I just want something to eat.'"

[Yoshihiro] The things we like
don't change that much in our lives,

like the books we read,

the type of music we like,

and our taste in food.

[gentle music playing]

[Yoshihiro] When I was a child, ayu trout
were caught in the rivers where I lived.

It's not food that children usually like,

but for some reason I loved ayu.

I remember asking my mother
for ayu on my birthday.

Now, I make ayu pizza.

Ayu pizza is made by confiting the ayu,

and then chopping up the head, bones,
and organs all at once.

It has a very rich,
concentrated, fish umami flavor.

There are no seasonings or sauces.

Just the ayu and cheese.

Even as an adult,

I still eat ayu.

I still feel a connection
with those memories within me.

[music fades out]

[Yoshihiro] Once I got into college,

it was fun studying
philosophy and sociology.

But I found myself wondering,

"What kind of job will I have?"

[tap runs, stops]

One day, when I happened
to go to the library,

I came across a book.

It was a book on how to bake bread.

I was like,
"Oh, you can make bread at home."

[pensive string music playing]

[Yoshihiro] Suddenly, I felt
I should try making bread.

Kneading the dough,
waiting for it to ferment and rise,

then baking and completing it

was a new experience for me.

I found myself buying other books,

doing a lot of research,

and trying things out.

When I was making bread,

I could get away from my worries.

Before I knew it,

I fell in love with baking my own bread.

[music fades out]

ENBOCA KYOTO

-Welcome.
-[Yoshihiro] Thank you.

Welcome.

Imai, what would you like?

[server] Beer?

Sure, I'll take a beer. Thanks.

[Yoshihiro] After graduating college,

I rented a small house
alone in the forest.

I heard from a friend
about a great pizza restaurant.

On my day off from work,
I decided to go for lunch.

[gentle music playing]

[Yoshihiro] I watched the chef
knead the dough.

[music intensifies]

I talked to him

about being addicted to baking bread
when I was a college student.

"Why don't you come work here?"

He said it in a very light-hearted way.

I thought, "Really?"

"That might not be a bad idea."

[chuckles]

-Here you go. Margherita with mushrooms.
-Thank you.

[Yoshihiro] The pizza I ordered
was a margherita with mushrooms.

A week passed.

I was in the forest.

I couldn't get
the taste of the pizza out of my mind.

It was like listening to a song I love

or feeling the wind rustle
through the fallen leaves.

That was when I realized
food can deeply move someone.

It moved me, and I thought,
"I should take this path."

Maybe through cooking,

I could give people the experience
of the wind blowing in their hearts.

[music fades out]

[Yoshihiro] When I decided
to become a chef…

I called my parents. [laughs] Yeah.

And that was that.

[Noriko] My response at that time was,

"Have you lost your mind?"

"A restaurant is where we go to get food,

not to serve food."

I couldn't understand
why he chose that path.

His father also felt worried.

Well, they were fiercely opposed.

[somber music playing]

[Yoshihiro] I think they cried.

My parents were sad, and I was also sad.

I didn't want to deal with it
and eventually just hung up the phone.

[in English] In Japanese culture,
you exist for the community.

There is this expectation
of upholding that.

[Emmy] Breaking that
can be seen as selfish.

[Masayo, in Japanese]
In Japan there is the saying,

"The nail that sticks out
gets hammered down."

If you do something different from others,

you get hammered down.

It's been that way for a long time.

[music fades out]

-[key clicks]
-[parking brake thunks]

Here we go.

[Yoshihiro] Thank you. Thank you so much.

[man] The wood's quite dry, isn't it?

[Yoshihiro] Incredibly dry.
The quality seems great.

[Yoshihiro] While I was working at Enboca,

my parents never came to see me.

I absolutely had to succeed
and become a good chef.

[propulsive string music playing]

[Yoshihiro] Working at Enboca,

I was in a situation
where I could study, think by myself,

and improve my cooking skills.

[metal pizza peel scraping]

I would go to the farm on my days off.

I learned how vegetables grow,
how they're harvested.

I began to understand and respect nature.

And I realized the pizza oven could
transform the taste of the vegetables.

The farm and the vegetables
exist together.

Like the wheels of a car,

it's not just about the food
or just the farm. You need both.

I was grateful to learn that lesson
at the start of my career.

SHIMA, KURAKAWA, SHOFUEN
MUNCHEN, TAI SUSHI

[Yoshihiro] I worked at Enboca
for four years.

When I thought it was time
to take the next step in my career,

I found a book about
a Copenhagen restaurant called Noma.

[gentle instrumental music playing]

The photos of the dishes,

nature and scenery,

and the beauty of the ingredients…

were profoundly moving.

I wondered if this was the path
I had been searching for.

Wow, this is incredible.

I wrote a long and passionate email
and sent it to them.

They sent me an email saying
I could come for an internship.

I couldn't believe it.

I only had ten days in Copenhagen.

I remember the day I arrived very well.

The chefs cooked passionately
and wholeheartedly,

using the best seasonal ingredients.

I felt they understood my passion.

I was plating the same dishes
I admired from the book.

I was very lucky to kick off
my culinary career in a place like that.

And I felt like something within me
just sparked.

[music fades out]

[Yoshihiro] Spending time at Noma
in Copenhagen was very special.

When I was thinking about
what I would do after that…

I thought I would live
and travel abroad for a while.

One day, I got a call
from my girlfriend, Erina.

She said, "I'm having a baby."

[pensive ambient music playing]

[Yoshihiro] It was such
a pleasant surprise.

I wanted to explore a world
that was unfamiliar to me

and use that as inspiration.

Everything suddenly changed.

I decided to stay in Japan.

I got a job at a hotel.

Unfortunately,
it was a tough place to work.

The Japanese service industry
can be very negative.

KASUMI CRAB
BLACK TIGER SHRIMP

Everyone who worked there was miserable.

I remember staring blankly
as I poured coffee for customers.

Perhaps my parents knew how difficult
it would be to work at a restaurant.

That's probably why they were against it.

I couldn't see the future.

It was a rough time for me.

[music fades out]

[Yoshihiro] I remember
it was around February.

There was something different
about that morning at work.

[gentle music playing]

A lot of foreign guys
with tattoos and beards

came down to the breakfast room.

The Noma team had just finished
a pop-up event in Tokyo

and were staying at the hotel
where I was working.

They said, "What are you doing here?"

That night I went out
for drinks with them.

I could see their passion,
vision, and positive energy,

and they reminded me
of what I was missing.

I realized I wasn't doing
the right thing for me.

I decided to take another step forward.

[music fades out]

Oh, hello!

-Thank you.
-[man] Good to see you.

Oh, thank you. What have we got today?

-[man] Rainbow trout from Iwate.
-[Yoshihiro] Oh, rainbow trout.

-Yes.
-Thank you. So tender.

[Yoshihiro] I quit my job.

I decided to open my own restaurant.

I decided I wouldn't
compromise artistically.

[pensive string music playing]

[Emmy, in English] Chef Imai realized,
"I have to make my own thing."

"There's just no other way."

He had to reorient his entire self.

"What am I here to do?"

"What can I do?"

He was following his gut and his heart.

[music intensifies]

[Yoshihiro, in Japanese] One concept
was to cook with firewood.

That's the best way to bring out
the flavor of vegetables.

I make it with Japanese wheat,
because I felt I should make the effort.

You can feel the depth of flavor.

And in kaiseki,

I had heard that a bowl and a small bite
of steamed rice are served first.

I wanted to use this style as inspiration.

Typically in Japan, the meal concludes

with a carbohydrate, a filling, warm dish.

I thought serving pizza
at the end would be a great fit.

For the first time,
I was continuously pursuing my passion.

It was like someone ignited my engine.

-[music fades out]
-[lighter clicks]

In December ,
I finally opened my restaurant Monk.

[table legs scraping]

We opened quietly
and it was hard to get customers.

But I followed my own path
without wavering.

I carried on with that in mind.

[bright string music playing]

[Yoshihiro] If I moved even one centimeter
by working each day,

I could keep moving forward.

Great!

I would go to the farmers' fields
to pick herbs and vegetables.

And I kept trying to reach perfection
with my pizza when I baked.

The best I could do was to keep going,
a little at a time.

That's what I did every day.

I think it is a result of him
digging deep into the place he was.

[music swells]

[Masayo] His cooking is a reflection
of his inner journey.

[Yoshihiro] Little by little,
word of mouth got around.

And people from all over the world
started coming.

[indistinct chatter]

Those guests from abroad go back home
and tell their friends and family.

Gradually, the restaurant came
to be completely full every night,

with reservations booked far in advance.

My circle was growing.

It was then that I was able
to welcome my parents

to my restaurant for the first time.

[Noriko] We went to Monk

and saw Yoshihiro
working with great enthusiasm.

Actually seeing him cooking in person

was something I was not used to.

[exclaims]

I felt like he was a different person.

I saw there was ayu pizza on the menu

and it reminded me of him as a child.

Seeing him made me really emotional.

[Noriko] Ah, how beautiful.

-[Yoshihiro] Isn't it perfect?
-Just brilliant.

How is it? Is the restaurant busy?

It is. We're at the busiest time of year,
when the autumn leaves are out.

[Noriko] I was very moved
by the way he worked so hard

to build it up by himself.

For the first time,

I praised him for his hard work.

-Supporting, in a way.
-Yeah.

[Yoshihiro] At the end,
my mother said to me,

"You did a good job,"
with tears in her eyes.

[music fades out]

It is a moment

that I won't forget.

[gentle music playing]

[bell chiming]

That pine tree is incredible.

Amazing.

[music fades out]

[Yoshihiro] Looking back now,

my future could have gone
many different ways.

Rather than being abroad…

I'm in Kyoto, putting down roots.

[gentle piano music playing]

Erina and I have made
this future together.

On the second floor of Monk,
she teaches yoga classes during the day.

At night, I run the restaurant.

[fire crackling]

-[Yoshihiro] Chi-chan and Taa-chan, hello!
-[man] They finally came.

[overlapping chatter in Japanese]

[Yoshihiro] Now, my children totter over
to the restaurant on their own.

[cutlery clattering]

[chuckles]

When they play, get excited,
and something catches their eye,

I hope they find their own passion
and follow that path.

I'm grateful for what I have.

[laughs]

On the path I've taken,
everything is connected.

[woman , in English] This isn't
the place to eat pepperoni pizza.

This is the place to try something new.

[upbeat electronic music plays]

[woman ] She goes beyond
the farmers' market.

[woman ] I tried everything.

Fermented tomatoes,
chicories, all kinds of weird stuff.

[woman ] Sarah Minnick changed
what pizza can be.

[music fades out]

[gentle instrumental music playing]