The perfect dish

I’m feeling better after sleeping, but now I’m awake unusually early and torturing myself by watching ambient, behind-the-scenes food prep in Japanese restaurants. On the surface these videos seem like your basic food-porn. But it’s one of those things that surfaces a lot of lessons about life and work.

Some of the chefs focus on bang for your buck: a literal mountain of rice, topped with half a chicken, and egg salad slathered on top. On one video I watched the chef make a hamburger the size of a frying pan with buns as large as a small head pillow. These kinds of restaurants definitely need to-go boxes. And the menu highlights signature dishes like whole-chicken karage. You don’t eat this kind of meal every day.

Other chefs focus on cheap food, perfectly portioned. Think of a 600-yen bento with several different dishes in a compartmentalized box. They might own a machine that perfectly measures the rice, and spend their time making a variety of dishes in small batches. The customers are often regulars who stop by every day for their lunch.

Right now I’m watching a chef who is definitely in the “artist” category. Small portions. A variety of ingredients. And more specialized ingredients like goji berries and soft-shell crab. Every dish is special. In fact, the dishes themselves each have unique patterns, shapes, and textures. People come to this restaurant to share the experience with friends and family.

Each of the chefs has found a niche that works for their location and skills, and they’ve put their effort into serving the perfect dish for that niche.