Amarante and Armani Restaurant Japan- Chef Carmine Amarante's Plans, Programs and Projects in the Land of the Rising Sun
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| Chef Carmine Amarante |
It is with great pleasure and honour that I announce my new adventure with Armani Ristorante Japan. I am so thrilled to be part of this new challenge and team, to continue giving my best in providing memorable experiences to our guests and giving my passion to my team.The launch of my new menu at Armani Ristorante Ginza and Omotesando will be on September 24th and I cannot wait to receive you all very soon!
Fantasticaaa! I
remember thinking. I can’t wait to virtually
take that adventure with him as the now 30-year-old chef, originally from
Campania, continues to enrich his culinary style of merging Italian fine dining
cuisine for his Japanese clients using local ingredients.
In his role as Executive Chef, Amarante is responsible for
all things Armani in terms of cuisine which include the Armani Ristorante,
Armani Wine Lounge, and the Emporio Armani Caffè. So we’re
talking about fine dining, bar/lounge, afternoon teas, aperitifs and bistro in Tokyo
and Osaka. Several months have passed, so I decided to reach out to Amarante
for a chat. You know, to get a little bit more info on some of his recent
projects.
One of my first questions had to do with Amarante’s menu,
his Loss Food Menu to be exact. In order to understand his response, one must
understand that Amarante has an intimate relationship with many of his
suppliers. He has been to their farms,
their markets, etc. He knows their
products very well.
How did that come about, Carmine?
The idea began when all the suppliers that I had – and some
that were new to me- wrote me telling me that they had too many goods that they
could not export or sell due to Covid restrictions. Products that were destined for
Australia, for example, as well as restaurants in Japan that had closed. So, what happened then? Many suppliers found themselves with a large
quantity of unsold products in their warehouse. So I thought, even if I was
able to order a small part of the goods and use them, it would be a way of
letting people know the plight of these suppliers. That these were goods that were going to be
thrown away. And I’m not talking about
contaminated products. In Japan, for
example, diners want the products to ‘look perfect’…products that are not would
be unsold. So I got back in contact with these suppliers looking for items that
were destined to be discarded---the imperfect tomatoes for example. Imperfections such as small holes, a little
smashed, missing skin…and I designed a menu based on these products. So from that idea Loss Food was born. The entire menu from appetizers to dessert is made with items destined to be scrapped.
So, what is on his Spring 2021 Loss Menu? Here's a taste:
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| Shonan Gold with edible wild plants, beets and citrus fruits. |
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| Two amazing appetizers; the first one is called Tomato Variation using boiled tomatoes, tomato gelato, powdered tomato and tomato consomme. The second is White Asparagus with Saffron Béarnaise Sauce. |
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| His Loss Menu also features this fantastic first - Amarante's Spaghetti Marino with smoked amberjack and arugula. |
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| Sea bream with a green pea puree and herb sauce. |
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| Amarante's pre-dessert (top picture) is made with citrus fruits. Meanwhile, the picture at the bottom is his main dessert featuring cocoa cream, cocoa husk jelly, granita made from white
cotton, fermented “cacao” syrup, and other parts that are discarded during the
chocolate making process. |
Amarante was the first in Japan to have this idea and it is having enormous success.
There are many people who are curious about this project such as those who
understand the importance of issues such as nature and food waste. So much so, that he is working on his Loss
Menu for Summer 2021.
With all that the chef has to do,
he still takes the time to explore the territory and learn about products and
cooking techniques up close and personal.
This video, for example, gives you a taste of what I mean.
This project was presented to me
by an ambassador of 50 Best and the Kochi government. This video was filmed in 5 days, it was a
beautiful experience. Beautiful because,
well, you need to know that about 95% of the world’s yuzu production is from
this part of Japan…So after this video, a form of advertising for the area,
people became really interested in the products from Kochi. So people were able to learn about Kochi,
which is a beautiful territory in terms of agriculture.
Many of the products that find their
way to Amarante’s menu besides yuzu include the fruit tomato and the Earl’s Favorite
melon.
It was a pleasure to chat with Amarante – not necessarily easy to do due to the 7 hour time difference and his busy schedule. It was also great to see that he hit the ground running since he was appointed to Armani as Executive Chef. He is always looking towards the future, continuing to enrich his portfolio of cultural experiences that not only help form his as a person, but as a chef as well.
I am looking forward to seeing
what is coming next.
Dōmo arigatōgozaimashita, Carmine!
(Photos courtesy of Chef Amarante)
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