Two years out of college and with a degree from Le Cordon Bleu in
Paris, Victoria Riccardi left a boyfriend, a rent-controlled New
York City apartment, and a plum job in advertising to move to Kyoto
to study "kaiseki, the exquisitely refined form of cooking that
accompanies the formal Japanese tea ceremony. She arrived in Kyoto,
a city she had dreamed about but never seen, with two bags, an
open-ended plane ticket, and the ability to speak only sushi-bar
Japanese. She left a year later, having learned the language, the
art of kaiseki, and what was truly important to her.
Through special introductions and personal favors, Victoria was
able to attend one of Kyoto's most prestigious tea schools, where
this ago-old Japanese art has been preserved for generations and
where she was taken under the wing of an American expatriate who
became her mentor in the highly choreographed rituals of this
extraordinary culinary discipline.
During her year in Kyoto, Victoria explored the mysterious and
rarefied world of tea kaiseki, living a life inaccessible to most
foreigners. She also discovered the beguiling realm of modern-day
Japanese food--the restaurants, specialty shops, and supermarkets.
She participated in many fast-disappearing culinary customs,
including making "mochi (chewy rice cakes) by hand, a beloved
family ritual barely surviving in a mechanized age. She celebrated
the annual cleansing rites of New Year's, donning an elaborate
kimono and obi for a thirty-four-course extravaganza. She includes
twenty-five recipes for favorite dishes she encountered, such as
Chicken and Egg Rice Bowl, Japanese Beef and Vegetable Hotpot, and
Green-Tea Cooked Salmon Over Rice.
"Untangling MyChopsticks is a sumptuous journey into the tastes,
traditions, and exotic undercurrents of Japan. It is also a
coming-of-age tale steeped in history and ancient customs, a
thoughtful meditation on life, love, and learning in another land.
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