Dialogue - sardexka -

A trip to Spain begins with a book of food photos

The Basque region is an area that spans France and Spain, where people with their own language live and is dotted with bars and Michelin-starred restaurants. The restaurant's name, "Sardesca," means "fork" in Basque.
While majoring in Education at Waseda University, he decided to make cooking his career when he was a university student. He became interested in the culinary path after working part-time at a restaurant, and one photo book became a major turning point in his life.

One of them is a photograph of food from El Bulli, a restaurant on the outskirts of Barcelona that has elevated the scientific cooking method known as molecular gastronomy to the level of art.

"To put it simply, it's a new trend in the culinary world. The way he preserves ingredients as data down to a molecular level makes for beautiful, innovative dishes that I was shocked by, regardless of whether I would have done it myself."

That impulse drove the young Fukada. He worked hard at a Chinese restaurant for three months, saving up the money for his trip. Without any local connections or language skills, he traveled alone to the gourmet town of the Basque Country in Spain.

"Through a connection, I worked at a bar in San Sebastian for about two months." After that, Fukada traveled to various regions of Spain, eating at various bars and restaurants, and experiencing the depth of Spanish cuisine.

At the same time, he began to feel uncomfortable with the image of Spanish cuisine in Japan, which is centered around paella and ajillo.

Shift from a la carte to course meals only

Fukada-san recalls that from the beginning, he had no intention of faithfully recreating local dishes such as paella and ajillo. His unique take on Spanish cuisine, combining Basque cuisine with Japanese ingredients, has gained a reputation and many people from both within and outside of Tokyo frequent the restaurant.
After returning to Japan, he worked in the kitchen at several Spanish bars in the Tokyo metropolitan area, and later became independent. The concept for the restaurant was based on the "gastrobar" style that he found appealing in Spain. The restaurant offers the kind of elaborate restaurant-style food in a casual, everyday bar atmosphere.

"When I first opened, I followed the example of local gastropubs and offered about 30 individual dishes. But there was a lot of food waste, and there were few occasions when I felt that customers were really paying attention to each dish."

As the ideal and reality of his restaurant continued to differ, Fukada decided to focus on offering course meals that were completely reservation-only.

"Uguisudani, where our restaurant is located, is an entertainment district, so we know that à la carte dishes are easier to visit and therefore better for sales than set menus. However, because we put our heart and soul into each and every dish, we have decided to move to a style of only serving set menus, which allows us to really focus on each dish in front of us."
When Fukada first opened, he used plain white plates instead of tableware by artists. "If I'm going to serve a course meal that I put a lot of effort into, I want to serve it on the work of an artist who puts his soul into it." With this in mind, he went to galleries and exhibitions, and in the process, he came across Ryuta Fukumura's tableware. "Using tableware that has emotion in it changes the way the chef, who is the creator, approaches the tableware."

Tracing the roots

He and his wife work hand in hand to run the restaurant. By switching to a course menu that requires reservations only, food waste has been reduced, and the two of them put in the time and effort to create an unprecedentedly enjoyable meal.
Starting in 2021, the restaurant name will change from "Spanish Cuisine Sardeska" to "sardexka."

The trigger was the declaration of a state of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In a situation where it was unclear what information was correct, Fukada recalls that the time he spent reflecting on himself led to a change in his values.

"It was an opportunity for me to reexamine what kind of food I make. When you put up a sign that says 'Spanish cuisine', some people assume that you are faithfully recreating local cuisine, and there have been times when I have received insensitive comments or come across other people's opinions. However, the food I make is that of someone who ate the food made by my mother, who is from Ishikawa Prefecture, and my grandmother, who is from Tokyo, grew up in Kanagawa Prefecture, encountered Spanish cuisine as an adult, and opened a restaurant in Tokyo with my wife.

As a Japanese person, I am attracted to Spanish cuisine, and I express it in one dish using seasonal Japanese ingredients such as vegetables and wild plants that are not available locally, and fish innards such as milt. With this in mind, I removed the words "Spanish cuisine" from the restaurant's name. It's a relief, but my roots are in Spanish cuisine, and what I do remains the same."

Bringing out the best flavor from the ingredients

Spanish cuisine made with carefully selected seasonal ingredients from around Miyawaka City. The combination of the food and tableware creates a luxurious moment.
The "Ceramic Artist Ryuta Fukumura Exhibition" began on February 20th. During the exhibition, a dinner party was held in the cafeteria by "sardexka," using Fukumura's ware.

"This was my first attempt to serve a course meal at an exhibition, but I hadn't decided on the contents of the course until I visited Utsushiki Land. I wanted to express the kind of 'improvisation' that can only be born in that moment."

This course meal makes use of local, seasonal ingredients. The chef purchases seasonal ingredients the day before at roadside stations near Miyawaka City, and uses those ingredients to create an image that will be expressed on the plate in front of you.

"It's tempting to add lots of different flavors, but my cooking is all about making the most of the quality of the ingredients. I always keep that in mind."
The moment is filled with the excitement of a live concert and the fleeting beauty of a single dish, like a scene from a movie. Even if you're meeting people for the first time, the real pleasure of a dinner party is being able to have lively conversation while eating delicious food.