RAINER BECKER
ZUMA
Zen and the Art of Tofu
Despite being rated Best Newcomer at the Guild of Chefs’ Awards this year, there is no pretentiousness about Rainer Becker - or his food. Becker has a real understanding of Japanese food and the culture so, although Zuma is cutting-edge chic, its whole ethos is rooted in ancient traditions of Zen: simplicity and purity.
The tofu says it all. It’s served just as it is - naked and proud. The tofu here is not ashamed of itself. It’s not hiding anything or pretending to be something it isn’t. Zuma is one of a few restaurants in London that make its own tofu, in the time-honoured way using nigari. This traditional coagulant is hardly ever used these days, but results in a creamy smooth tofu with no harsh aftertaste, quite unlike the chemically-made version.
This contemporary-yet-ancient message from Japan, of simplicity and purity, is evident not only in the food, but the moment you walk into the restaurant. Designed by Noriyoshi Muramatsu, the tables are slices of wood, ‘pieces of tree’, and the robata counter is simply granite. This pared-down refined style, and respect for unadorned natural beauty, is the very essence of Japan, and of Zuma.
When things are stripped down to their essential elements, whether it’s a piece of raw fish or a raw piece of wood, “it has to be good”, says Becker. There’s no disguising it - nowhere to hide. And if Becker can’t get the quality he likes, he’ll serve something else instead. “You cannot compromise. If you do it wrong you give the wrong impression of the country.”
The house sake too emphasises purity: unpasteurised, it’s made especially for the restaurant with the clear water of Lake Biwa near Kyoto. Also unique to Zuma is its fresh nori, flown in from Japan and an impossibly vibrant green.
It was during his years as executive head chef at the Park Hyatt in Tokyo, during the early nineties, that Becker’s love affair with Japanese cuisine began. Becker considers himself very lucky to have met Kenichiro Ooe, one of his chefs, who spent hours teaching him everything about traditional Japanese cuisine.
Becker tells of how Ooe would get him to practise his cutting technique on blocks of konnyaku, as fish was too expensive to cut on. This caused much hilarity amongst his watching kitchen brigade. “In the beginning it was tough - my assistant was fifteen years older than me. So it was a challenge, and the first half year was difficult, but then I had the best time ever”.
In the end, Becker's modesty, and eagerness to learn, endeared him to his staff and helped to dispel any resentment they may have felt towards the young foreigner.
Knowing the rules of Japanese cuisine means that Becker is able to bend them, whilst still staying true to the spirit of the traditions. And, because he understands both the Japanese and western palate, he can interpret traditional Japanese cuisine for his London clientele. But this is definitely not fusion (or ‘confusion’!) food. Rather, Becker takes Japanese elements and ‘re-arranges’ them.
Whole baby chicken is smothered in a spicy miso paste and roasted on a thin sheet of fragrant cedar wood -
a material traditionally used for rice pots. The wood is cut especially for Zuma in Japan. Lamb chops, though not traditional, are marinated in miso and quickly grilled over the robata charcoal grill. This is a wonderful partner to the taru zake (sake aged in a cedar cask). Edamame are here stir-fried with chilli, garlic, ginger and soy. And, even though the tofu is served untraditionally on a round dinner plate with spoons, the spoons are bamboo, and the plate is hand crafted stoneware.
As Becker himself says, “I take the traditional and boost it up a bit”. He has limits though, and draws the line at konnyaku. “Nobody would eat it - they would throw it back at me!”. In fact, as far as Becker is concerned, it’s only useful for knife skills, and he won’t do the traditional if he thinks it won’t appeal to his customers. However, as the philosopher Donald Winnacott said, “Originality is only possible on the basis of tradition.” *
I think Becker would agree.
© Shirley Booth
*Quoted in Ceramics in Society issue 52
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