Japan is quite justifiably one of the world's top food destinations. Tsuji Fish Market, where the world's best and most expensive tuna is auctioned, is a major drawcard.

Tokyo alone has 160,000 restaurants, 150 with 191 Michelin stars, more than New York, Paris or London, making it the eating capital of the world. But even before the publication of Michelin's first Tokyo guide in 2007, the elegance and aesthetic appeal of Japanese food preparation was already in the public's consciousness. Upmarket chains such as Nobu reinforced the country's reputation (even if it originated in the US).

Now those who have been through sushi and sashimi are looking for the next thing in Japanese food. They might be very interested in reading a glossy cookbook, Kaiseki: the exquisite cuisine of Kyoto's Kikunoi Restaurant by Yoshihiro Murata, owner of Kyoto's famous Kikunoi and Kiamachi restaurants. Published in 2006, the sumptuous book celebrates the specialised cuisine, with each page a visual feast.

Officially there are two types of kaiseki. The origin of the word is from the combination of the words kai (the bosom of a kimono) and seki (stone), from the warm stones Zen priests wore close to their stomachs to ward off hunger.

Masako Fukui and her mother Kei Fukui, a trained kaiseki chef boasting 30 years' experience, hold classes in Sydney. Masako Fukui says the monks' meal comprised seasonal vegetarian ingredients in one soup, three small seasonal dishes and three mouthfuls of rice.

This type of kaiseki still exists today but the second form of the delicacy is much better known. As Fukui says: 'Though the two kaiseki are homonyms, today's kaiseki is a totally different word in Japanese made up of two words: kai meaning 'to meet', and seki, meaning 'seat'. 'So quite literally, "seat of meeting", or in Aussie parlance, a party …'

In Japan this form of kaiseki is traditionally from Kyoto and is an extremely formal, elaborate and expensive meal. Charles Greenfield, the Japanese-trained master chef at the 14-seat Jamon Omakase restaurant in Melbourne's South Yarra, says: 'It is the ultimate formal dinner. The only thing that you would get close to it is the dinners that you would get in the royal palaces in the world. That's how formal it is.'

Greenfield says that outside Japan most kaiseki is simply an elaborate à la carte or degustation menu. In Japan they are reserved for the rich and the influential. Greenfield has only been to one proper kaiseki meal, when he was taken into a Tokyo house where seven people spent six hours eating, with background music of Japanese opera sung by geishas. 'It is beautiful because the meanings and the pictures [in the food] are just sensational,' he says. 'No average person could afford it. There are versions where you'd pay probably a thousand bucks a head and you'd come out and be hungry.'

Fukui says that the set (usually seven to nine) courses of kaiseki are served in order (see 'A typical kaiseki menu'). Saki is served with the first six courses. 'You always start with an appetiser,' says Fukui. 'Then you serve the sashimi or some kind of seasonal offering.'

She says that the dishes are very traditional Japanese and have hidden meanings or, for those in the know, a kind of poetry.

They can be quite alien to anyone who isn't familiar with Japanese food beyond sushi. 'They are not the sort of things that you get in restaurants in the West,' Fukui says. 'People find it difficult to understand what it means. There are certain ways of cooking kaiseki. They are certain ways of even cutting fish in kaiseki that are different to ordinary grilled fish. Those sorts of things are very difficult.'

Fukui waters down the techniques for the class in Sydney simply because they are too complex. Indeed, most kaiseki menus in the West are watered down. So that makes three types of kaiseki, including the de-tuned Western version.

A typical kaiseki menu

Sakizuke: appetiser

Wanmono: seasonal offering in broth

Mukozuke: cold dish (usually sashimi)

Either yakimono or agemono: grilled or fried dish

Takiawase or mushimono: simmered, braised or steamed dish

Sunomono or aemono: salad or 'dressed' dish

Gohan: rice or noodles

Otsuyu: broth

Tsukemono: pickles

Source: Kei's kitchen website.


Reference: August 2008, volume 78:07, p. 74-76