Auberge Eaufeu: ‘New cuisine’ in former school

Half an hour from Ishikawa Prefecture’s Komatsu Airport, Auberge Eaufeu is located on a site endowed with underground water from Mount Hakusan. The town’s industries include rice growing and production of Nikka stone, which was used in the National Diet Building. Despite the area’s scenic beauty, its population has declined, leading to the closure of an elementary school in 2018.

The town suddenly started attracting attention among gastronomes in 2017. That was the year when, drawn to the area’s natural environment and water, Naohiko Noguchi — the “god of sake brewing” — started producing sake there. Then, in July 2022, Auberge Eaufeu was opened in the former Nishio Elementary School, next to Noguchi’s sake brewery. Thereafter, “foodies” from inside and outside the prefecture started coming to the region with the aim of visiting the town.

Auberge Eaufeu’s chef, Shota Itoi, was born in Kyoto Prefecture and trained in Kobe and France. The winner of a prestigious culinary competition in Japan, he received offers from a number of restaurants. But he was drawn to the concept of attempting to create a top-tier restaurant housed in a former school complex, and in 2021 he moved to Komatsu and joined the project in its pre-opening preparation phase.

The price of a night’s stay at the inn, with dinner and breakfast, is ¥45,600 ($300). The restaurant is also open to nonstaying visitors, with both the lunch and dinner course menus starting at ¥15,000. Nearly all ingredients are from Ishikawa Prefecture or elsewhere in the Hokuriku region. In addition to game meat and seafood, dishes feature ingredients such as the lamb that has recently started to be raised in Hakusan. Itoi and his staff also go foraging in the mountains and use the just-picked mountain vegetables and mushrooms in their dishes. What is created through this process is “new Japanese cuisine made with French cooking techniques.” According to Itoi, even guests from overseas have said, “It isn’t Japanese food, but it’s the cuisine of Japan.”

The picnic-style breakfast at Auberge Eaufeu incorporates fermented foods such as rice kōji yeast from its neighboring sake brewery, the Noguchi Naohiko Sake Institute, and homemade yogurt and pickles. Guests are free to choose the location of their morning meal, with options including not just the restaurant and adjacent cafe, but also the rooftop, sports ground and even places a bit farther afield, such as a rock quarry and a spot amid nature facing a waterfall.

When a restaurant created with capital from Osaka is opened in a depopulated area, there is a positive expectation of local revitalization, but at the same time there is concern among residents about the comings and goings of “outsiders.” It seems numerous information sessions for local residents were held prior to the opening. The understanding and approval of local people is essential to running a fine-dining restaurant in a regional location. Auberge Eaufeu continues to transmit the area’s appeal to guests from outside the prefecture and outside Japan while becoming an integral part of the local environment.

■Sustainable Japan Magazine (Sustainable Japan by The Japan Times)
https://sustainable.japantimes.com/magazine/vol51/51-04