Kaiseki – Japanese haute cuisine

Kaiseki (会席料理) is Japanese haute cuisine and one of the most refined cuisines in the world. If you want your trip to Japan to be complete, you must experience a full-fledged kaiseki meal.

This type of ” Kaiseki ” haute cuisine is said to date back to the 16th century, when Sen-no-Rikyu, a tea master, introduced a sober version of this cuisine to accompany the tea ceremony. However, kaiseki evolved over the centuries and is now a style of cooking and presentation of food that brings together a wide variety of haute cuisine techniques, ingredients, and even presentation methods. Its best description as a word is simply ” Japanese haute cuisine “, that is, elegant food eaten on very special occasions.

In kaiseki , the foods that make it up are only one element of the aesthetics in the whole experience: the dishes are chosen according to the season, the ingredients are always the freshest and best that they have to offer, each dish is served in carefully chosen crockery, sometimes in lacquer trays or ceramic bowls with harmonious and priceless designs. It is a work of art that you can eat!

In kaiseki , the place and environment in which the food is being served is also important, which is generally in a traditional restaurant with the characteristic refined and simple Japanese decorations. The flower arrangements and decoration are also chosen according to the season and where on one side of the room there will be a sliding door that will allow you to enjoy a small Japanese garden.

Among the foods that are most found within kaiseki are fish and seafood, many vegetables and of course rice. A miso soup and tsukemono (Japanese pickles) are usually served at the end of the meal. To drink you will have sake, although you can also order beer or different types of infusion and tea.

A kaiseki dinner consists of between 7 and 14 dishes that are generally served in a strictly prescribed order. From time to time some of the dishes will be served together on the same tray, rather than one at a time, this depends on which establishment you are at.

The dishes that are normally served at the Kaisei are:

1. Saki-zuke (先付) a dish that serves to stimulate the appetite.

2. Wanmono椀物 which is basically the soup, with vegetables and some slow-cooked seafood.

3. Muko-zuke , or sashimi dish, fresh, raw fish.

4. Hachizakana鉢肴 is the grilled fish dish with grilled vegetables.

5. Shii-zakana , a side dish that is simmered with more than two ingredients.

6. Gohan (in Japanese it is rice) . For the Japanese, a meal is not a meal unless it includes rice which is always served with miso soup (in this case, a fancy miso called aka-dashi ) and tsukemono (Japanese pickles).

7. Mizu-mono or dessert that is usually fruit or some dessert made with fruit.

A full-course kaiseki dinner in a good restaurant can cost between 10,000 and 30,000 yen (90 to 280 USD) per person excluding drinks, it can be a bit expensive, but the price is a guarantee that you get what you pay for.

Would you like to live the experience of a kaiseki in Japan? Tell us in the comments!