おじいちゃんの味を守る！８０歳夫婦と孫息子が営む老舗洋食店「キッチン友」が美味しすぎる

おじいちゃんの味を守る！８０歳夫婦と孫息子が営む老舗洋食店「キッチン友」が美味しすぎる

Kitchen Tomodachi, Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture, established 61 years ago. A close look at the long-established Western-style restaurant run by an 80-year-old couple and their grandchild. Kitchen Tomodachi. Mr. Daiki, the second-generation owner. He took over from his grandfather two years ago and works hard every day. Do you divide up the prep work? Yeah. Prep work is completely divided up now. Grandpa handles the meat and fish over there, while I slice cabbage and such over here. He heats the sauce, and the demi-glace sauce takes about one to two months to make, That demi-glace just finished recently, so we’ve started a new batch, so we’re heating that up. This is the demi-glace sauce. This is today’s (demiglace) sauce. It’s used in hamburg steak, Napolitan pasta, meat sauce, chicken sauté, I’d say it’s used in about 80% of our menu items. We’re in our 62nd year now, still using the same methods, and I think that’s why our customers love the taste. We’re really committed to everything being handmade. Even the mayonnaise and tartar sauce are all handmade. We emulsify them in a bowl to make them. I believe almost nothing here is not handmade. The current owner, Mr. Otomo. A veteran with 64 years dedicated to this craft since age 16. Since opening Kitchen Tomodachi in 1965, he and his wife Chikako have run the business together as a team. Were you happy when your grandchild said they would take over? No, it’s not about teaching, I was doing that NHK 3-Minute Cooking thing, Grandpa, was that it? Were you happy I came? I didn’t mention the 3-Minute Cooking show. I wondered if it would connect. Sorry, I haven’t put my hearing aid in yet today, It really helps me a lot. Once you’re over 80, you start saying all sorts of crazy things, so conversations with customers are something else. I don’t get it myself, but everyone’s laughing. So things like that just happen all the time. Rinsing the rice. The butcher delivered ground meat, loin, and other cuts. Miso soup. Once the broth is ready, strain it. Care is taken to avoid leaving fine bits like bonito flakes or mackerel flakes in your mouth, which can be unpleasant. All 61 years here? Right here. Has the town changed? Compared to 61 years ago? It has. The roads weren’t asphalt, they were gravel roads. Weren’t there as many shops as there are now? Not really, not like these kinds of restaurants. There were five or six. Maybe a few more. I see. Next to us, Daiki-san and Mako-san have started prepping vegetables. They’re used as side dishes for teppanyaki and such. So it feels like I’m about to enter my third year (since taking over the shop). Grandpa got sick, there was talk about maybe closing this shop down. This is where it all started for me, wanting to be a chef. This place was absolutely it. Seeing these two made me want to become a chef, I aspired to be a chef, but the genre was completely different, and honestly, I had absolutely no intention of taking over the business, I just didn’t want to lose my roots, Besides, I’d worked so hard to build up the name this far, I worked so hard to make it big, and I thought it would be such a waste to lose that. I was originally doing French cuisine, I could put my French cooking on hold, so I felt I’d reached the choice to keep this place instead. I agonized over it. Could I really make it work? My former boss at the previous restaurant kept warning me it would be incredibly tough, so I was really discouraged from doing it. But I really didn’t want to lose this place, The customers who come now, could it be that they come for the taste of grandpa and grandma’s cooking? After all, if the grandkids suddenly say they’re taking over, I think there are definitely some people who don’t think highly of it, or that the taste changed, and that kind of thing would definitely be tough, I think there are tons of those kinds of things, and personally, at first, well, not just at first, but even now, I feel a lot of pressure. Add the miso little by little to the dashi-based miso soup. Stir so the soybean texture of the miso doesn’t linger in your mouth. The miso soup is complete. These onions are mainly for the special yufu-yaki. Ms. Mako peels potatoes for the side dish. She says she can’t stop crying when she’s next to someone cutting onions. There are about 40 different menu items. So inevitably, things that get featured in the media at the time, tend to get more orders, so the Jumbo Lunch Special tends to be the main thing. On the flip side, are there any dishes you think deserve to be more famous? What would that be? There are definitely too many. There are tons, So what I always say is, I tell them to come once and try the jumbo lunch or a special, and then from the second time on, they can find what they like. Now’s a good time to come in. Excuse me for coming into the kitchen. Was there ever a time when you thought about starting your own restaurant? Not really to that extent, but I was the sous chef at the Akasaka restaurant, though. I was still planning to stay there, just as COVID was starting to subside, I was just about to rebuild the shop, because customers were starting to come back, I hadn’t really thought about it at all, but before I knew it, I was back running it. It’s a nice town, every day is fun. We made everything, like T-shirts, Because the front-of-house staff didn’t have anything to wear, We wanted to create a sense of unity with that too, I thought that might be more interesting, We also sell T-shirts for customers. Do people come to eat wearing the T-shirts? Yes, absolutely. Like, they came wearing them. Mr. Otomo has started prepping the hamburg patties. Bread for binding. This is breadcrumbs. By adjusting the moisture content, we add breadcrumbs so it’s neither too loose nor too firm. Add a little water and knead well. I know just the right amount to use. That’s what you’d expect from a chef. This is just me being careful. Since I don’t use a spoon for this kind of thing, The hard part is that the amount is only “about this much,” so remembering that or writing it down was tough. When I asked, “How much is this?” she’d hold up the salt and say, “About this much.” There’s no way I could understand. I’ve written down most of the recipes myself in my notebook now, though. Boiling potatoes for the side dish. Drain the potatoes and fry them in oil to make French fries. Continue with the hamburg patties. Proceed with various preparations simultaneously. After mixing, chill it in the refrigerator for a while. Make the batter for deep-frying. While making the batter, I keep an eye on the french fries. You can feel the history in the knife too. Yeah, the shape. Was it always like this? It was probably about this size originally. The knife Mr. Otomo received from his chef friend is still in active use today. Preparing shrimp for shrimp tempura. What exactly are you doing to the shrimp right now?
It’s not exactly mud, but You know how shrimp dig in the mud here? Impurities, right? When you have this, it inevitably splatters when you add oil. The tail part? Yes, that’s right. We carefully remove this part, and the shrimp are prepared so they can be eaten as a snack with the shell on, so if a customer orders something like fried shrimp, we encourage them to eat the shells too, I want to properly carry on what Grandpa and Grandma did, and make sure I don’t slack off. This (peeling shrimp) is the fastest. It’s embarrassing when people pay too much attention. I can’t win, I can’t win. I think we’re about equal now~? It’s not like I’m doing it any faster. Daiki cuts into the shrimp peeled by Mako. He makes a cut so the shrimp will rise straight up. The demi-glace sauce, now on its third day of preparation. It’s simmered over low heat every single day. The color deepens a little bit each day. This is the finished product. Cut the salmon for the fried salmon. It was still frozen. See, it’s frozen. Shred the cabbage for the garnish. Originally, Grandpa used to cut it, but then Grandma started cutting it partway through, apparently a regular customer complained it wasn’t julienned properly, so after I started working here, I took over slicing it, (Before that) apparently it was just called lettuce. Continuing to prepare the chilled hamburger patty mixture. From here on, I’ll hand it over to Mako. Add the ground meat. It’s cold. It’s super cold. Normally, Grandpa does it inside, but… He broke his femur. Was it recently? Yeah, yeah. I don’t usually do it that much, but it ends up like this. It’s cold, My hands turn white. Are you okay? I’m fine. It’s just routine work. Knead it while applying pressure. Once kneaded, chill it in the refrigerator. Cutting a large pork loin into steak portions. Trim off the sinew. Jumbo lunch cutlet and Special Tomofu-style meat. Cutting it from this whole animal, Since it’s such a big chunk, there are tough parts, We roast those and use them as a base for the demi-glace sauce. It’s wonderful how nothing goes to waste. That’s right. We really throw away very little here. After trimming the fat, cut it into thick slices. This is still frozen too. It’s frozen again? Feel it. It’s hard. Still… yeah, a little… We decided to wait a little longer for it to thaw. In Daiki’s mind, “When you think of Grandpa’s taste, is there one thing that comes to mind?” Hmm, that’s tough. But everything… Everything… Everything, yes. This menu is Grandpa’s taste. I’ve been eating it for 28 years. Did you come to the shop to eat when you were little? Yes, I did. During long holidays, I’d come to Yokohama to play, and we’d all eat lunch and dinner here together. Was there a menu item you liked when you were little? Sirloin steak! They don’t have it anymore. Maybe they’ll bring it back for a limited time? Yeah, that’s right. Like a limited-time offer for only 10 servings, I think it would be nice if we could do something like that. As for future prospects, Since it’s thawed a bit, recut it. Stir-fry the trimmed sinewy meat. Add it to the demi-glace sauce. Skim off the scum. Simmer thoroughly under pressure. Once things settled down, Daiki-san went out to buy supplies. Did the two of you originally run it together all along? Yes, that’s right. We ran it with the two of us and some part-time help. Did your father come up with the entire menu? Not exactly “came up with”… We came up with the basic structure for the menu. Plus, customers actually come up with a lot of ideas too. Like, “I want to eat something like this”? Yeah, yeah, yeah. When we got our name (Kitchen Friends), we were completely burned out after just a year or two of opening. A fire? Yeah. We had about four and a half fires. The first time we had a fire, this place burned down completely. We were saddled with a full year’s worth of debt, and that was the hardest part. Who came up with the name “Tomodachi” for the shop? Because it’s “Otomo.” I see, from the surname? Everyone kept calling me Tomo-san, Tomo-san, so that’s how we ended up with that name. At first, people would say things like “Tomoru”. Doesn’t it sound like a Western-style restaurant? If anything, it’s more like French cuisine, Everyone always calls Dad “Tomo-chan,” I thought it was fine since it’s a Western-style restaurant in the downtown area, and we became “Kitchen Friends.” You two seem to get along really well, Looks that way, doesn’t it? It looks that way. When there are customers, that is. Because someone makes it here, she doesn’t make it (at home). She only does it in her own castle. So Mom always makes it then. But when it’s too much trouble, we just go out to eat. Chicken breast for chicken cutlets. Daiki returned from shopping. He changed into his chef’s coat and prepared to open the shop. Noon, 12:00. The restaurant opens. The display case shows the menu with old-fashioned food samples. There are 40 menu items in total. The particularly popular ones are the Tomofu-yaki and the Jumbo Lunch. Climb the slightly steep stairs to find seating on the second floor. It was also featured in the drama “Solitary Gourmet”. A customer enters the restaurant. Begins preparation before the order is placed. Spaghetti for the side dish. Jumbo Lunch Large Rice! The large hamburger patty for the Jumbo Lunch. Make a fried egg to go with the hamburger patty. Here you go! Hamburger steak lunch! Plating the salad. Cook the hamburger patties for the hamburger steak lunch. Hamburger patties even bigger than the jumbo lunch. Fry pork cutlet, fried shrimp, and fried chicken for the Jumbo Lunch. Here you go! Two jumbo lunches! Here you go! Arrange the fried pork cutlet, fried chicken, and fried shrimp on a large plate. Pour over the demi-glace sauce that took two months to make. The jumbo lunch, true to its name, is complete. Fry the fish for the hamburger steak lunch. The fish fry is done. Plate the main hamburger steak. The hamburger steak lunch, topped with a large piece of fried fish, is complete. Thank you very much! Hey there! Thank you very much! While I have a free hand, I’ll scoop out the bits floating in the oil. Jumbo Lunch and Special Tomofu-yaki, without rice, Please. Jumbo Lunch and Special Special, no rice. Yes! Teamwork keeps the dishes coming one after another. Thank you very much! Thank you very much! Here you go! This is the Special (Tomofu-yaki)! Jumbo Lunch. Tomokaze Hamburger Steak, Special. Special Tomokaze-style grilled pork. Stir-fry plenty of onions and pork with red wine and soy sauce. The cooked pork is placed on a piping hot iron plate. A large amount of stir-fried onions covers the pork and other vegetables. The special Tomofu-style grilled dish is complete. A fleeting family gathering. The most popular Jumbo Lunch. A luxurious plate featuring two pieces of fried chicken, fried shrimp, a hamburger steak, followed by a large chicken cutlet, and a fried egg on top. A runny, half-cooked fried egg. Make the special Tomofu-style grilled dish. Added a large amount of onions. Sautéed slowly until caramelized. The signature dish:Special Tomofu-yaki. The sweet and savory sauce everyone loves, along with the steam and sizzling sound, whet the appetite. A mountain of caramelized onions is well coated with sauce. Underneath the onions lies pork thigh meat. Making a hamburger steak in the style of a friend. Fry two hamburg steaks. Finely chopped onion. Season with wine, soy sauce, garlic, etc. Place two patties luxuriously on top of the vegetable garnish. The Tomofu-style hamburger steak is complete. The Tomofu-style hamburger steak enjoys enduring popularity, especially among women. Its Japanese-style seasoning and sweet onions make this juicy hamburger steak irresistible. As lunch service nears its end, they’re discussing what to eat for lunch. “What should we eat?” Corn soup and rice. Corn soup and rice. I’ll have the small meat patty. Is it hot inside? It gets crazy hot in summer. On a day like today, it’s not too bad, But when things get busy and the fires start popping up everywhere, it gets hot. Summer really hits around 40°C. It gets to 40°C every day. After lunch service ends, he eats the staff meal. Daiki-san often eats the restaurant menu even for staff meals. He eats a substantial meal to recover his strength in preparation for the evening service. Mr. Otomo doesn’t leave the kitchen even while eating. He spends most of his day in this kitchen. How does it taste? Hm? How does it taste? Delicious. Work hard tonight too. Yes. Don’t overdo it. Yes, thank you. We talked upstairs so as not to wake Mr. Otomo. He was a Showa-era craftsman, so rather than teaching me, it felt more like “watch and learn.” He’s an old man, but when you enter the shop, I guess you could call him the boss, but he’s more like a chef, At first, that part was really… …confusing, or I did wonder if it would be okay, but what made me happy was when long-time regulars would say “Thank you so much.” Seeing regulars who’ve been coming for years happy because of what I did, and then there are many customers who come with their parents, children, and even three generations together,
so they tell me they’re happy that they can keep doing that without interruption, That aspect really made me happy, and the townspeople are truly so kind to us,
I strongly feel it’s a good town and that coming back was the right choice. There are times when communication doesn’t go smoothly,
but But even with that, it’s all part of the fun, and I’m genuinely happy doing this every day. Beyond that, I guess I’d be even happier if more customers came. Do you have any thoughts on how you want to protect the shop going forward? I’d like to extend the business hours a bit more going forward. It would be nice to stay open until 9:00 PM. Right now, we have a lot of salarymen and others who really want to come, Right now, we have a lot of salarymen and others who really want to come, Since we absolutely have to close at 8:00, I also feel like I want to broaden our appeal in that regard, Since we’re a Western-style restaurant rooted in the town, we’re also working with the townspeople, like organizing events, and above all, our current goal is to reach 100 years, We’re aiming for 100 years since founding, so I’m determined to make it happen for the next 38 years.

キッチン友
営業時間　 12:00 – 14:30
　　　　　 17:30 – 20:00
TEL 　　　 045-431-1152
定休日　　水曜日、木曜日
住所　　　〒221-0802 神奈川県横浜市神奈川区六角橋１丁目７番２１号 １階、２階
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/kicchin_tomo/
MAP https://maps.app.goo.gl/CxiQJeoG3cJGtums7

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