The most memorable once-in-a-lifetime experience in Kanazawa was a private cooking class I did with a retired Kaiseki chef from a 2 Star Michelin. Moe and Chikako, delightful smart women who run Cooking Studio in Kanazawa, arranged for the instructor and facilitated setting up the the private class in their school. https://www.cookingkanazawa.com They also kindly translated for me as my Japanese is limited. We shopped at Omicho market and then spent all day making five Kaga Kaiseki Ryori dishes in the traditional style, meaning in the Buddhist way. (You are supposed to do 10, but that would have taken days) No modern tools and no meat. (Duck does not count as meat in Kanazawa.) My Sensei was so, so patient with me. And funny. I have never experienced talent like this so close up. The food we had at lunch was better than all the restaurants. My word of the day was “Renshu” (Practice) which I will have to do a lot. Hubby spent the entire day with a camera in one hand and a video camera in the other capturing all of it. Many of my preconceived notions were challenged. Everything from my knife skills to the way I make Dashi was called into question. Certainly some of the differences are unique to Kanazawa and perhaps some of it I attribute to the the very traditional methods of my sensei that was passed down many generations. Here was the menu: 1) Yuan Yaki – Binchotan Grilled Nodoguru in Yuan Style. 2) Kara Mushi – Grilled Spring Snapper with Okara Stuffing 3) Hasu Mushi – Steamed Kaga Renkon (lotus) dish 4) Kani Shinjyo – Clear soup with crab meat and fish paste 5) Jibuni – Organic duck, veggies in Shoyu sauce.

The video is over 3 hours long but if you are very interested in learning about Kaga Kaiseki cooking I think you will enjoy it.

Yuan Yaki – Binchotan Grilled Nodoguru in Yuan Style.

Kara Mushi – Grilled Spring Snapper with Okara Stuffing

Hasu Mushi – Steamed Kaga Renkon (lotus) dish

Kani Shinjyo – Clear soup with crab meat and fish pasteJibuni – Organic duck, veggies in Shoyu sauce.