Yakitori Sanka

There are few chefs more ardently devoted to their hometowns than Chef Yamanaka Takamasa. Born and raised in Kochi Prefecture, his pride in his hometown of Kahoku (since merged into greater Kami City) is clearly evident — it’s even in the restaurant’s name, which is a portmanteau of his own last name and his hometown’s. Appropriately, Chef Takamasa exclusively uses Tosa-jiro at his restaurant, a small, feisty breed of chicken bred exclusively in Kochi for almost 100 years. The Tosa-jiro is said to be closely related to the red junglefowl, the predecessor of the modern domestic chicken. As a result, it is extremely low in fat, possessing only one-sixth of the fat that a typical chicken would possess, and an abnormally high amount of glutamic acid — the key ingredient that produces umami. “The more you chew, the more flavor you get,” its breeders say. While the use of Tosa-jiro is one of the key ingredients to Yakitori Sanka’s success, it’s not the only thing. The chicken skewers are grilled over traditional Tosa binchotan charcoal, which is renowned for its odorless smoke — allowing the chicken’s natural flavor to shine through. The grilled chicken is then seasoned with traditional sun-dried salt from eastern Kochi — all these ingredients coming together as a beautiful culinary love letter to his home. Michelin Guide: 2024 - Bib Gourmand