Atami Miyu Honten

Chef Miyuki Igarashi needs no introduction. Taking over her family-run restaurant at just 21, she solidified herself as a household name by being the youngest challenger to ever appear on Japan’s most famous cooking television programme, Iron Chef. The next 25 years saw her empire only grow and grow, with Chef Igarashi making over 1,000 appearances in various media both domestic and international, making her one of Japan’s most famous female chefs. As a consultant for various companies, culinary instructor, seasoning developer, and culinary advisor for the Japan East Railway Company’s Saphir Odoriko luxury train, the growth shows no signs of slowing. Atami City in Shizuoka Prefecture’s Izu Peninsula draws many visitors looking to get a taste of her famous Japanese-style Chinese cuisine. The peninsula’s unique combination of mountains and ocean affords it a blend of produce, meat and seafood that can be found nowhere else in Japan — and it is this uniquely fresh stock of ingredients that forms the basis of Miyu’s cuisine. Fusing Chinese cooking techniques with Japanese ingredients, Miyu’s menus are highly praised for their originality. In particular, it is her masterful blending of Chinese and Japanese dashi that gives her cooking the best of both culinary schools. Perhaps unique to Chef Igarashi’s culinary outlook is the use of less, rather than more seasoning; rather than rely on additional condiments and seasonings to improve taste, she strips things back, preferring to let the innate taste of the base ingredients speak for themselves. This is what gives her dishes their hallmark: a gentler, lighter aftertaste. This is also thanks to the rich flavors of the Izu Peninsula’s natural seafood and produce, especially its katsuobushi flakes (dried skipjack tuna, also known as bonito), which form an essential part of the restaurant’s dashi. Chef Igarashi sources hers from famed local producer Marufuji — the key ingredient in the restaurant’s signature dish, the kuroge wagyu beef katsuobushi steak. Dusted in katsuobushi flakes, the steak is then marinated in a blend of Japanese and Chinese soy sauces.