The Restaurant Of Lost Recipes by Hisashi Kashiwai

 

If you know exactly where to go on the backstreets of Kyoto, you'll find the Kamogawa Diner.  The diner is run by Chef Nagare and his daughter Koishi.  The restaurant is known only to a few and its mission is to recreate the meals that meant the world to someone and that they haven't been able to recreate.  If you find your way there, Chef Nagare will investigate the recipe, traveling to find the exact ingredients and recreate it for you to come back and try.  The price?  Whatever you think is right.

Various characters find their way to the Diner.  There is the young man who is about to become an Olympic swimmer for the nation who wants the bento boxes his father packed for him as a young boy.  A couple who lost their son want a Christmas cake as a neighbor made them one after their son's death.  Now they are deciding if a young man working at their bakery is the right one to take over from them and the cake will give them a clue.  A woman wants hamburger steak that her father made for her son.  On and on the list goes and each time Chef Nagare and his daughter hit the bullseye, making the dish that the customer had dreamed of.

Hisashi Kashiwai is a Japanese author who was born and raised in Kyoto.  He was trained and worked as a dentist for many years while also writing.  This novel is the second in a series of four about the food detectives.  It is a heartwarming tale that emphasizes the relationship between specific meals and our emotional wellbeing.  As with most things Japanese, the emphasis is on creating something perfect regardless of effort.  This book is recommended for multicultural readers.