The heart behind cooking, my “my rules”

Shiodome, Tokyo, where skyscrapers line the streets.
With easy access to the bay area and other parts of Tokyo, Shiodome is a business district where many large companies have their headquarters. Located in this business district The Royal Park Hotel Iconic Tokyo Shiodome is a city hotel that combines comfort and functionality.

The hotel lobby is on the 24th floor. Directly managed restaurant "All Day Dining Harmony" is located at the end of the elevator.

His career as a chef has spanned 40 years, but it was an unexpected opportunity for him to step into the culinary world.

“Originally, I wanted to get a job that involved people, not a chef, but things didn’t turn out the way I wanted, and when I thought about what I wanted to do there, I suddenly remembered my mother.”

Born to a mother who is good at cooking, I suddenly remembered that I grew up in an environment with gentle home cooking.

“For my family, my mother always served food at the most delicious moment, ‘warm things warm and cold things cold’. Maybe it was because I grew up in such an environment that I naturally began to think that a job related to food would be good.”

At the age of 19, he moved to Tokyo with the intention of becoming a chef. After gaining experience at various hotel restaurants, he was 31 when he got a job at Sendai Royal Park Hotel.

“From that time on Royal Park Hotels was so focused on food that it was called the Royal Park of Food, so I was really happy to be able to gain experience there. The philosophy overlapped with the part I valued.”

No matter what kind of cuisine or occasion, we want to deliver delicious food while it is delicious. The root of that thought is probably that he grew up watching his mother's back.

Head Chef Ikeda himself says that morning is his favorite time.

“In the morning, my thoughts are the freshest and I come up with ideas. I also love breakfast. Everyone is looking forward to seeing you.”

What makes Harmony's breakfast different from other hotel breakfasts is the commitment of head chef Ikeda. After many trials and errors, we finally arrived at a “meal menu that you really want to eat in the morning.”

“The first thing that came to my mind was green asparagus. I want people to grill and eat fresh asparagus. We make it face to face.”

A special time in the morning will help you feel good all day long. Breakfast at the hotel... it would be nice to have such a day once in a while.

When I asked what the head chef Ikeda valued, he replied, "Enjoying with all five senses."

“The food is delicious as soon as you eat it.

Cooking doesn't have to be complicated. Take a bite and see if you can intuitively feel it's delicious. Ikeda's head chef style is based on such simplicity.

They offer a wide variety of menus from morning to night, and surprisingly, the inspiration comes from home cooking programs and seasonal meals.

“Simple seasoning is best. I was inspired by a German chef I used to work with.

Harmony's menu is evidenced by the use of herbs in most of them. By using spices, herbs, olive oil, etc., the seasoning is as simple as possible.

“The important thing in the production of food is to perform one action in front of the customer. For example, hiding something and asking the customer to open it, or having the customer take care of themselves at the end. I want people to enjoy the change in taste and the sense of surprise.”

One of the essences of enjoying a meal at a restaurant is to enjoy conversation with the staff, rather than just eating the food that is served in front of you. With this one trick, the expectations for the dish will rise dramatically.

We often hear the phrase “local production for local consumption,” but is it possible in Tokyo?

“Though not as many as in Sendai, there are many delicious vegetables in the Kanto region, such as Tokyo and Kanagawa. Kanagawa is famous for Miura vegetables, and Tokyo is famous for Komatsuna.”

When you're in Tokyo, it's hard to feel the four seasons. However, if there are good ingredients, wouldn't it be possible to create courses using ingredients only available in Tokyo? When I threw it like that, he smiled happily, saying, "I want to try something like that."

Executive Chef Ikeda is particular about the selection of ingredients that are “before” cooking, but he is also very interested in food loss “after” being served as a dish.

“Throwing away the leftover food from the buffet… I have always wondered when I saw such a scene. There are many people in the world who are suffering from hunger, but as a chef, I can do even a little with my own hands. I wondered if I could do something about it, so I decided not to do a full buffet as much as possible.”

Harmony has adopted a wagon buffet style where you can order as much food as you like, which is brought in a wagon. Waste as little as possible. The buffet style, which we arrived at because we could do even one thing, eventually led to the restaurant's waste loss. Although we are only halfway through the journey, Chef Ikeda's challenges continue.

Why is it so pleasant to spend time in Harmony? Executive Chef Ikeda expresses the reason for this with the word “team power.”

"It's an essential part, but I don't think it's enough to just cook. Service, space, and food are all one. If you pay attention to every detail, you'll be able to come back again."

You can never build a store by yourself. As head chef Ikeda says, he wants the restaurant to be a comfortable place.

I see. So the hotel restaurant will be a special space for us. It is understandable that the special space, time, and food that you encountered when you were a child make you want to touch them again as an adult. There are staff who treat you with love and dishes that are full of passion.

Chef life, 40 years. Executive Chef Ikeda, with his eyes shining, says that there are still things he wants to try and work on. From April 2022, he will be appointed as the cooking manager at the new Yokohama Royal Park Hotel. I can't help but look forward to seeing what kind of success he will show.

I wanted to visit again to see that smile.

• This article and images are current as of March 2022.