Occupation:
Restaurant owner and chef
Time in Japan:
Seven years
Where are you from?
Canada.
What brought you to Japan?
When I was first here it was so difficult to find a half-decent restaurant in Tokyo that
served real Western food. I really wanted a cheese fondue when I first lived here and
couldn' find one anywhere, so I decided to open up a restaurant myself.
How did your restaurant get started?
A lot of hard work. Lots of closed doors because I'm a gaijin, but I met a lot of very
nice Japanese people who were willing to help. If you can make it in Japan, you can make
it anywhere.
What do you do here?
Most of the time I cook. I also spend a lot of time reading cookbooks, finding out what
foreigners really want to eat. The latest thing I heard is that they want to be more
healthy so that's why I'm opening up my new restaurant, Good Honest Grub.
What's that going to be like?
It will basically be a very casual cafe. The menu will change quite often depending on
what we can get. There will be a lot of salads, concentrating on freshness. We'll have
takeout, especially during lunch, and a large selection of sandwiches. It'll be very
relaxed and intimate - a nice place to hang out and drink some coffee or wine. I'm not
sure if the place will be nonsmoking. I'm going to be collecting comments on what we
should do because the place is small and I'd like to be conscious of it. Basically, if
people are happy, I'm happy.
Are you planning to stay?
This is home for me, for how long I don't know. But no changes in the foreseeable future.
What advice can you give other foreigners who are trying to start out in Japan?
Have lots and lots of patience. If you think it's hard in your own country, it's harder in
Japan because of the language barriers and customs. We have to remember that we are in
Japan. It can work for you in certain ways but when it comes to producing quantity or
quality, you have to prove yourself.
What do you like about Japan most?
Even though we live in the Hustle-Bustle City, traditions are kept, such as an elderly
lady or man walking along slowly and bowing to me. That's what I love about Japan.
What do you dislike about Japan most?
It's in too big a hurry to become Western in the wrong ways.
If you could take one thing back from Japan to your native country, what would it be?
A tatami room. The patience that Japanese people have with foreigners.
Where's your favorite place to eat or drink in Tokyo?
Out of the way izakaya, where we sit on the tatami and eat. They're very relaxing.
Where do you want to be New Year's Eve 1999?
On a mountain somewhere in Japan with a couple of good friends.
You have to spend the rest of your life trapped on the Yamanote line. You're allowed to
take one book, one CD and one luxury item. What would they be?
The book would be any cookbook by Mollie Katzen. The CD, anything by Fairground Attraction
and for the luxury item, my best friend.
Good Honest Grub opened March 1 in Ebisu-Minami. Tel: 3710-0400.
Occupation:
LIFE IN JAPAN: