cucina salve

When chef Hiroshi Tsubouchi was a child, every meal was a gamble. Severe allergies to a huge variety of foods meant that a single bite could result in huge patches of itchy, painful eczema erupting all over his body. It may seem ironic that someone who found the simple act of eating so difficult would end up becoming one of the most famed chefs in the Saitama region. But it was precisely for this reason that Chef Tsubouchi persevered so hard in his culinary journey. His quest to find and make food that even he could eat took him across many of Japan’s prefectures to dozens of farms and producers. Today, his journey has culminated in the establishment of cucina salve, a restaurant that serves over 150 kinds of organic vegetables, as well as eggs and flour, all sourced from Chef Tsubouchi’s own farm. The richness of flavor and nourishing nature of the produce is partly thanks to Chef Tsubouchi’s intensive research, but also due in no small part to the unique climatic conditions of the Chichibu Basin, where his farm and restaurant are located. The rich soil and wide range of seasonal temperatures allow for the cultivation of multiple varieties of produce, giving him a huge range of ingredients to work with. At cucina salve, there is no fixed menu, or chef’s recommendation; the menu is almost entirely decided on the morning of the service. This is because, just like humans, vegetables have “moods”, says Chef Tsubouchi. An eggplant picked after the rain has a different “voice” from one picked in the sunshine. And cooking, he says, cannot start without first listening to the voice of the ingredients.