午夜剧场

The time I spent thinking about food, alcohol, and anything related to eating and drinking was the most enjoyable. If there was a restaurant I was curious about, I would fly anywhere in the country. I traveled abroad to visit wine producers. I went deep into the mountains in search of wild game and mountain vegetables, and toured ports in search of fish. Before I knew it, this had transformed from a mere hobby into a job I could work at with pride.

After graduating from university, I worked for a general company for several years, but I eventually began to wonder if I could truly say I had confidence and fulfillment in that work. Because of the spirit of independence and self-respect cultivated at 午夜剧场, I had no fear of leaving a large corporate organization. I dove into the world of cooking to pursue what I truly loved and began studying in earnest.

When I am asked about my profession and answer, "I am a private chef," most people give me a puzzled look. This is likely because the term "private chef" has not yet taken root generally and is unfamiliar to most people. During the recent COVID-19 pandemic, non-storefront food and beverage business models spread rapidly due to successive restaurant closures and shortened business hours, but when I started this job about 10 years ago, awareness was even lower than it is now. The image of a chef was a "cook in a restaurant," and while there are over 80,000 restaurants in Tokyo alone, the dispatch of chefs was limited to services costing hundreds of thousands of yen per person from certain high-end sushi restaurants or large-scale catering services for corporations. Having home party food be pizza delivery every time is dull. I started as a chef specializing in private visits, thinking it would be great if there were a chef anyone could easily call upon.

Essentially, private catering is a service where you can slowly enjoy authentic professional cuisine at home or a designated location. Even with small children or elderly people who have difficulty going out, you can enjoy a multi-course meal without worrying about your surroundings. With course settings that are more reasonable than typical restaurant prices, I accept bookings from a minimum of two people to parties of hundreds. My policy of having many people enjoy the food even with low profit margins, while enjoying the work myself, seems to have been graciously accepted by many customers. Although it is a common expression, I feel the most fulfillment in my current job when my customers are satisfied and happy. While being grateful that I can make my greatest hobby my job, I want to cherish that sense of moving people.