いちばんの食事
『うまい魚が食いたい』と魚を探して、漁師さんと舟に乗った。
『うまい酒が飲みたい』と、酒を訪ねて、杜氏さんのもとで働いた。
おかげで、酒や魚にとどまらず、うまい野菜、昆布や醤油にまでめぐり合えた。
とにかく、うまいもんが食いたかった。力のある素材を集めて料理することを考えてきた。
それを食べる時の喜びはたとえようがない。なによりも食事が大好きだ。
そこでいちばんの食事はなにかと考えた。
すぐれた素材・料理人・食器・空間の設え…これがそろえば充分、かしら？
どうもちがう。なにかが足りない。
そうだ、『食い手』だ。食い上手といっしょなら、
たとえ何を食べても、魔法にかかったようにうまい。
食事でいちばん大切なのは食べることをついわすれてしまうくらい
楽しいひとたちと食事を囲むことだ。
うまい食事は、やっぱり人がいちばんだ。
he Best Meals
"I want to eat some delicious fish," I thought, so I went in search of fish and boarded a boat with a fisherman.
"I want to drink some delicious sake," I thought and went out and worked with a brewer.
In that way I encountered not only fish and sak but wonderful vegetables and seaweed and soy sauce and more.
All I wanted was to eat delicious things. It occurred to me that I could assemble hearty ingredients and cook them.
There was nothing like the joy I experienced when I ate a meal like that. Meals are my first love.
So I thought to myself, what makes a superior meal? The best ingredients, a good chef, sake, tableware, space. . . .
Would that be all I needed? But something was missing. That's it! Someone to eat with!
When you're with people who really enjoy eating, everything is delicious, as if the meal were enchanted.
The most important thing in any meal is to sit around a table with people who are so much fun
that you forget to eat. The best meals, I understood, are with people.
English Translation by Dr.David G.Goodman |
