Dialogue - TANE [Part 2] -

In November 2021, Mr. and Mrs. Ota from "TANE" hosted a two-day dinner party to celebrate the Yamaka Design Studio/Ono Tomohiro exhibition.

In the first part, we talked about how they met, the sights they saw and the thoughts they had when they traveled to India before starting the shop. In the second part, we will look into what has happened since they started their activities in Japan.

What is it that creates the cheerful atmosphere that "TANE" exudes? We will explore the background of the gentleness that cherishes the important things and opens its doors to everyone without discrimination. Please continue to join us in the long December nights, as in the first part.

Energy Exchange

When you returned to Japan and started working in Japan, as a restaurant, did you have the desire for lots of people to come and eat there?

Toyo: When I didn't have a shop yet and was just setting up shop, I was asked to sell it for 500 yen. I made 200 meals and sold them. But when I did that, it just meant selling curry and getting 500 yen. Even though I made a lot of money, I started to feel empty.

Misa: Yeah, yeah.

Toyo: When we open our restaurant, that's not the place. But we also want as many people as possible to eat our food... so that balance is really the theme.

It sounds like it's connected to the question of "abundance."

Misa: It's not enough to just eat and turn the food around. It's important to talk and exchange feelings, and for the regular customers to eat properly. Also, we get important vegetables from farmers who care about them, and we put out as much as we can with what we have. It's not enough to just sell them.

But in reality, aren’t there any conflicts?

Toyo: Yes. That's why we're still searching. When we have a lot of customers, we get caught up in the feeling that we're just doing business! Sometimes we don't realize it. We're still searching for where we'll land, where the balance is. But I wonder if that's okay. There may not be a "this is absolutely the best" thing.

Misa: Yes, it does change. The way we think about and use money has also changed a lot.



How do you spend money?

Toyo: For example, when I come to Utsushiki, I don't look at the price tags as much anymore. When I see the price, I always think, "It's expensive, what should I do?" But I want to try to look at things that are not like that as much as possible, and look at the things that are put into the thing itself, and the background behind it. It's like an energy exchange.

"Energy exchange," when did you start to feel that way?

Mass: Since I started working in sales. I wonder if things have really changed in the last five years or so.

Toyo: As we continued to receive payment directly for the things we expressed at the store, we started to value the idea of ​​circulation. In particular, since we started using vegetables directly from farmers who care about their food, we felt that their energy was reaching someone's body through us.

To do that, you have no choice but to use money. Is there anything you feel about that?

Toyo: Hmm... Oh, by the way, I've been doing something on my own recently. I make a prototype for a few dozen people at a time and distribute them to my neighbors. Then, after a while, they ask me to try it and give me things like kabosu or yuzu jam. I took the prototype for this dinner party to a restaurant nearby where students gather.

It's an exchange of energy! But it takes courage for a restaurant to do that. If they gave them away for free, people who might have come to the restaurant the next day might stop coming.

Toyo: Yes! That's what I thought at first too. I wondered if it was okay to give it away when there were people who paid to eat it. But until then, we basically had to throw away anything we couldn't eat ourselves. When I thought about that, I realized that that's not the important thing. We only do it once or twice a month, but it gives you a glimpse of "abundance." It's interesting, and it feels like an experiment. As long as I live in Japan and have the pleasure of spending money, I don't want to say "abundance isn't money," but I hope I can find a balance with things like this.

I can only do what I can

It seems like progress is being made by accumulating one feeling at a time each day.

Toyo: Yes. In addition, various connections have been made during the COVID-19 pandemic and things have started to move forward. We've been able to hold talks at TANE and set up stalls at some pretty big yoga events. Through this, new questions have arisen for us as a restaurant. In addition to making and serving curry, we want to do things that increase the points of contact between people and the things that are important to us. We hope to widen our connections even a little.

Do you want to be the one to communicate?

Toyo: Hmm, I wonder. I think we should just do what we can and branch out from there...

Misa: Ah. Rather than telling you, would you rather share it?

Toyo: Oh, yeah, I'll share it.

Misa: Recently, someone told me that it was their first time eating out since being discharged from the hospital, and that their body felt warm and in good condition. They told me what happens to their body after eating, and shared their wisdom. Rather than just us telling each other something, it feels like we're learning together by sharing our opinions and experiences. All together.

It feels more two-way than just "communicating."

Toyo: Even when I have the opportunity to teach cooking with spices, I also learn and realize a lot myself.

Misa: The spice kits we sold at Utsushiki this time also say "It's up to you." The curry we're talking about isn't everything, but it becomes the curry of the person who makes it.

Even so, it's strange. I feel like when people find a new direction, they're more passionate about it, but I don't get that feeling from you two.

Toyo: Maybe it's because it's a great balance. I think I'm doing a great balance right now. I work hard at my daily routine at the restaurant, and occasionally go out to dinner parties.

Misa: We met new people in each place.

It seems like you're living life as it is, but in this day and age where information about "ideals" is constantly coming in, have you ever felt anxious about that sort of thing?

Toyo: Yes, yes. In the first or second year of running the shop, that feeling got stronger and I started looking outwards, but now, I've come to love that place in front of Beppu Station.

Misa: We've been talking about how it would be nice to have our stores a little closer to our lives, but it's not clear yet and we're not in a rush. Even if the ideal place were available now, I don't think we'd be able to do it. It can't be done suddenly. Steady and sure.

Can you only do what you can?

Toyo: That's right. In terms of business model, 500 yen per cup is wrong, but it's also wrong to only have a reservation system that costs 3000 yen. If we make it a reservation system, the regular customers won't be able to come. I can understand the feelings of people like office workers and neighborhood aunties.

The unchanging everyday scenery comes to mind.

Toyo: I really value the everyday. The balance between the formal and informal. If I make everything formal, I can't keep to my routine and it can lead to personal issues. I wonder if it's wrong to disrupt the flow of my daily morning yoga, preparation, and time at the store to do something somewhere, at this point.

What is “TANE-ness”?

So, what kind of shop is "TANE"?

Toyo: Well, generally speaking, it's like, "We serve South Indian meals" or "We're a curry restaurant." I wonder if that's okay. But actually, this dinner party at Utsushiki included a first-time challenge for us. Until the last dinner party, we did everything we could within the format of South Indian meals, but this time we got rid of that framework and tried to mix "what I want to do now" and "what I can do."

That's right! It certainly felt like I was eating a new type of spicy dish, not a regular meal.

Toyo: Up until now, I've been particular about serving only the recipes I learned in India. I didn't want to make any other arrangements because it felt like a fake, and I felt really sorry for breaking tradition, so I tried not to go beyond the framework.

Why take on a new challenge?

Toyo: Over the past year, I've been visiting farmers and seeing how agriculture is influenced by nature. Just like with vegetables, which are what you get and what you don't, I've started to want to cook food that is in line with nature. Even if all I can get at that time of year is pumpkin, I want to do something about it. The fact that I haven't been able to go to India for a while due to the COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact, and I feel like the time has come when I have no choice but to start cooking in the "TANE style."

So what is it that makes something "TANE-like"?

Toyo: I guess that's everything we talked about today. On the other hand, if I wasn't like that anymore, I might not be "TANE-like." Even if I lost my sense of taste and couldn't cook anymore, I hope I could find my own idea of ​​"richness."

Misa: That's true. Even if we no longer have to cook, I think it would be our identity if we could share the things that move us. I want something to be added to a person's daily life by coming to our restaurant. Whether that be knowledge or a change in their body. And I've been really happy recently to be able to share that with people, so I think it would be great if "TANE" could be an extension of that.

After this conversation

In the second part, we asked about the present and future of "TANE". The word we heard most often from the two of them during this conversation was "balance". Whether it's a way of life or a preference, their way of being, knowing both extremes and trying to accept both, may be the true identity of the cheerful "something" they exude.

From now on, TANE will no longer be limited to South Indian meals, but will continue to expand its range of food expression as time goes on. At the same time, most things will remain the same, and TANE will continue to warmly welcome customers as always. We hope that TANE will be a part of your daily life.

Interviewer and writer: Noserumi