Kyoto Farm to Table

Kyoto Farm to Table provides an inside look at the restaurateurs, chefs, farmers, fishermen, and tofu makers who are enriching Kyoto’s foodscape with local, shizen shoku (naturally grown) sustainable food.

While modern Japan relies heavily on imports and prizes aesthetic perfection, the visionaries featured in Kyoto Farm to Table are reinvigorating the deep culinary and agricultural roots of the old capital. Known for its Kyoyasai (Kyoto-specific vegetables), its pure water, and as the nexus of Japanese culture, Kyoto is just the place to preserve washoku (Japanese culinary tradition) for future generations.

Author and photographer Viola Gaskell and Japanese food writer Momoko Nakamura interviewed more than 30 producers and restaurateurs who go against the grain to perpetuate a lifestyle that is kind to the body and kind to the earth. For some, the choice was spurred by time abroad, for others it was a direct reaction to the Fukushima nuclear disaster. Internationally, appreciation for sustainable food is growing, and Kyoto has much to offer this global community as conscientious farmers and chefs set the course for a new direction for Japanese food that harkens back to its shizen shoku origins that predate the Second World War. Beautifully packaged and featuring more than 100 color photographs, Kyoto Farm to Table highlights those who put their time and care into making the restaurant industry a more sustainable source of joy.