Let's Eat vol.2
A casual line of a well-known store that goes with fashion.

It is not uncommon for apparel brands to create a second line in order to maintain the original world view. The relationship between the cafe "BGM" and the Michelin-starred French restaurant "Ode" is exactly the same. We spoke with Chef Yusuke Ikai, who decides on the taste of everything.

Ode" has been trying to introduce delicious and creative cuisine from Tokyo to the world. At that time, Corona had a big impact, and I think we were just at the turning point of the era when we were thinking about the future of food. We also wanted to choose what we could do, even though there were many different vectors, such as not causing food loss, not producing food waste, and using ingredients from producers whose faces we could see.

Some of the menu items at BGM are made from scraps of ingredients that would otherwise go out at Ode . The same is true of the most popular canele. When I brought it to my mouth, I found that the canele of the day had a somewhat citrusy aroma.

. mixes in dried powders of fruit and vegetable scraps. Dough things don't taste much different when flavored powders are added, as long as the base is strong. Cannelles are very popular, so I hope that after people eat them and find them delicious, they actually become aware of the food loss issue."

Ode's technique lives on in other French baked goods as well, such as canelés.

. for example, the Cuban sandwich. The roast pork sandwich is marinated, but we utilize the restaurant's techniques for cooking and marinating the pork. The tomato sandwich under development is a menu item suggested by a staff member. It contains fresh mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, and fresh basil, delivered daily from a farm called Crookfields."

Many of these ideas come from the staff. The challenge of addressing food loss has also positively affected the skills of the staff.

." "As I work with my hands, thinking about how to make good use of the scraps, ideas start to emerge. . I am developing my skills in how to make effective use of the scraps. I try to use it all up without wasting it, and if I have to use some of it, I put it in the compost bin.

. we blend our own coffee. As the name "BGM" implies, our coffee is not music that one should listen to with an audio player in front of it, but rather, it is just the kind of music that one might hear if one were to listen to it. Therefore, we try not to make the coffee too acidic or too deeply roasted, so that people will not get tired of it even if they drink it every day, and so that the taste can be widely shared.

The restaurant is casually decorated with books from Mr. Ikui's culture and design library, which he says is actually a culture buff. The restaurant's approach, which seems to discreetly educate customers about food loss issues beyond the deliciousness of the food, is also typical of "BGM.