Yasuhiko Kusuda (Chef, Metzgerei Kusuda)
YAYOI ARIMOTO + NOZOMU ONODERA
ARTIST
YAYOI ARIMOTO + NOZOMU ONODERA
Autumn Game Call Hunting and Chefs Who Transform Deer Meat.
Part 2 : Kazuki Ishimatsu (Chef, Maruta)
UPDATE：2021.03.11
An event to learn about deer was held at MEMU EARTH HOTEL in Tokachi, Hokkaido. In the previous article, I wrote about Onodera’s hunting in the field, but this article deals with the chef Kusuda, who gave a lecture on venison and meat processing at the event. In Tokachi, after joining the hunting trip with locals and Onodera in the wilderness, Kusuda butchered a large hunted Yezo deer using his masterful knife skills and made a wonderful dish. As a specialist in processed meat, he gave a lecture in Tokachi and talked in great detail about the differences and characteristics of various methods for processing meat around the world, including information on natural climate and vegetation.
Kusuda’s store Metzgerei Kusuda is a delicatessen known for its processed meat, with its main store located in Ashiya and a branch in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture. Using meat produced in Japan, the store makes a variety of processed meat products that are extremely delicious and pleasing to the eye based on its original ingenuity and incredibly thorough preparation. Poured into Metzgerei Kusuda’s terrine, ham, and sausages are the chef’s distinct technique cultivated during his training in meat processing in France and Germany and at Japanese restaurants, along with his encounters with producers and his knowledge of ingredients and cooking.
When I visited Metzgerei Kusuda in Ashiya, the Yezo deer meat caught in Tokachi had just arrived. Blown away by the accuracy, carefulness, and delicacy of his knife skills in Tokachi, I was again fortunate to witness his technique. The meat somewhat curiously seems to nestle right up to his knife, and Kusuda slides the blade as if engaging in a one-on-one dialogue with a large chunk of meat. He cuts cleanly right along the muscle to remove even the slightest amount of meat, cooking it carefully without wasting any. “Having seen Onodera hunting deer, I’m determined to use every part of the meat thoroughly without any waste,” said the chef. One after the other, customers constantly streamed in to admire and purchase the superb items, neatly arranged in a showcase inside the tranquil store. It made me glad that the people on either side of the showcase were joined together through the act of gratefully eating this delicious food.
