We leaf through a new cookbook by Tim Anderson dedicated to the cuisine of the Japanese island of Hokkaido. Also in the programme, George Ruskin meets chef Ben Slater to learn about the art of food styling and our in-house wine expert, Chloé Lake, crowns her wine of the month. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Hello and welcome to the menu, Monaco Radio's food and drink program.
I'm your host, Chiara Rimela.
Coming up, we leaf through a new cookbook dedicated to the cuisine of the Japanese island of Hokkaido.
Very unique food culture, even in a country where there's unique food culture everywhere.
And I learned about the indigenous Ainu food and of course the seafood as well, which is sort of the best in Japan, I would say maybe.
Also on the program we learn all about the art of food styling with chef Ben Slater.
Everything has to work with everything else.
Everything has to justify its place on the plate, otherwise it just shouldn't be there.
Plus, our in house wine expert crowns her wine of the month.
All that here on the menu on Monaco Radio.
All too often we tend to refer to cuisines by just mentioning a nationality.
But every country has agricultural and gastronomic differences that can and should be celebrated in hyper specific regional dishes.
In Japan, the northernmost island of Hokkaido is shaped by the produce that this fertile land surrounded by cold seas can yield.
Anything from creamy dairy to exceptional salmon, sea urchin and squid.
Author Tim Anderson has dedicated decades of his life to studying and chronicling the food of Japan.
He he found the cuisine of Hokkaido particularly enticing given the parallels with his own upbringing in Chile, Wisconsin.
His latest book, Hokkaido Recipes from the Seas, Fields and Farmlands of Northern Japan, traces many distinct cities and villages to showcase their most representative recipes for people to replicate at home.
But most of all, this book is a love letter to this island, the country at large, and its inexhaustible idiosyncrasies.
Tim joined me in the studio to tell me more.
I started by asking him where his love for the nation began and why he chose to focus on this region in particular.