Copyright kyodonews
PUNE, India - Indian chef Brehadeesh Kumar's curiosity about Japan began in elementary school when his grandfather gifted him a 10-yen coin from a world collection featuring the delicately inscribed Byodo-in Temple's Phoenix Hall, located in the ancient Japanese capital of Kyoto. It was the start of a journey that would eventually take him to Japan on a government scholarship after he became captivated by Japanese cuisine, or "washoku," before returning home to open a Japanese restaurant in the western Indian state of Maharashtra. Kumar, 28, now serves up everything from deep-fried foods to staples like ramen to introduce Japan's food culture to Indians. He is currently compiling an "encyclopedia" of his own sketches of Japanese cuisine -- as part of his mission to be a cultural bridge between the two countries through food. At Ginkgo, the restaurant Kumar is co-owner and head chef of in the sprawling city of Pune, customers stream past the red lantern bearing the word "Ramen" in Japanese before the doors open. At opening time, the restaurant, quickly fills its roughly 20 seats. The interior is decorated with hanging scrolls and a "maneki-neko" lucky cat figurine. "Kanji characters are like drawings to me," says Kumar, who began studying Japanese in high school. Although Kumar once considered becoming a pastry chef, it was his encounter with Japanese sweets -- and their sensitivity to the seasons, a quality missing in Indian desserts -- that strengthened his fascination with Japan and inspired him to study there. From 2019, Kumar studied at Chiba University, near Tokyo, for about a year on a scholarship from Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. For one of his research projects, he explored how to blend Japanese and Indian sweets. During his studies, he learned about "kaiseki" Japanese multicourse cuisine while training for two months at Kyoto's traditional restaurant Kikunoi Honten. "Seasonal flair, vibrant colors, design, decoration...It was artwork!" Kumar recalls. Kumar opened Ginkgo after returning to India in 2021, but this was during the COVID-19 pandemic. Undeterred by the challenges, he used the lockdown period to create detailed illustrations of ingredients, seasonings, and dishes, complete with English explanations, to share with his customers. "The book can be used as both an encyclopedia and a textbook. It will take five years to complete," Kumar says with a smile. At the end of the year, he also prepares traditional Japanese New Year's dishes. In 2024, Kumar was appointed as a "Goodwill Ambassador for the Promotion of Japanese Cuisine" by Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. Washoku was added to UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list in December 2013. In the decade following, the number of Japanese restaurants overseas increased threefold, from around 55,000 in 2013 to around 187,000 in 2023, according to farm ministry data. Kumar hopes to further contribute to this global appreciation. He plans to open a new space near Gingko offering kaiseki-style meals, catering to small groups of Indian diners who have grown familiar with Japanese flavors at his restaurant. "I'd like to keep broadening the appeal of Japanese cuisine," he said.
