日報

When I was in elementary school, I can't remember what grade I was in, but everyone was crazy about Dragon Ball when a character named Trunks appeared.

I immediately fell in love with his cool silver hair, and Trunks became synonymous with "cool" in my mind.

Some time later, I learned that "trunks" was also the name of men's underwear, but even now, for me, "Trunks" isn't underwear; he remains the cool warrior I envisioned.

Decades passed, and I started cooking. I discovered ingredients with cool names, just like Trunks back then.

Selvatica and Endive.

Selvatica sounds like a calm wizard, and Endive sounds like a brave warrior.

Yet, they're just leafy greens.

Endive looked good and had a cool name, so I thought, "This is great!" and bought some, but I was surprised by how bitter it was. It was a bit too harsh for a salad.

I tried making the dressing more vinegary and adding citrus to it, experimenting until I found a way to make it edible.

Normally, I might not buy it again, but since its name is cool, I want to keep trying a bit longer. Endive.

Speaking of ingredients with names that sound like a final boss, Gorgonzola is definitely it.

...No, Beef Stroganoff is also a strong contender.

I recently went shopping at Azabudai Hills.

Stylish shops are good at giving off an aura that says, "Come on over here," so just walking around is enjoyable.

kikkake doesn't have a physical store, but there's a lot we can learn from them, so I thought, "This is really educational," and enjoyed my shopping, pretending it was useful.

I smelled freshly baked bread, and when I looked, there was a shop with a line, so I was drawn in.

A lovely interior and delicious-looking bread. I wanted to buy some bread for a photo shoot, so I picked a baguette and got in line.

Suddenly, I noticed the register counter was sparkling.

I was wondering why they would make the bread shine so brightly, when I saw a camera installed above. When I placed the bread on the counter, the camera read it, automatically identified the type of bread, and the payment was processed.

I instinctively blurted out, "Wow!" which led to a conversation with the staff. It ended up being a memorable shop.

Looking back, it was a bakery with not many types of products, so I feel like manually ringing up the items might have been faster.

However, if it had been a regular register, I don't think it would have been such a memorable shop.

Despite the shop's decor and the bread's appetizing appearance, perhaps one more ingenious idea is needed to attract customers.

What kind of ingenious idea should kikkake come up with?

I was told that if I left food on my plate, the "Mottainai Ghost" would appear, but since I always finished my meals, I've never met it.

I was told not to cut my nails at night, so even now, I don't. However, I usually notice my nails are long right before bed, so it's quite inconvenient.

I was also told that if you whistle at night, Dracula would come. One day, I was wrapped in my futon and softly whistled, and then I thought Dracula might already be nearby. I got scared and couldn't get out of bed.

When it thunders, I was told to hide my belly button. But I've never lived with my belly button exposed, and even if it were taken, I don't think it would particularly affect my daily life, so I don't really pay much attention to it.

I was also told to hide my thumb if I saw a hearse. I did hide it, but I always worried a little about whether the bony part at the base of my thumb counted as "thumb showing."

Thanks to superstitions, there are probably many things I stopped doing as a child.

However, I also feel that because of superstitions, I've stopped doing things that I didn't need to stop doing.

Even as an adult, they surprisingly still have an effect.

This is my third year with hay fever. I'm still a rookie.

In my first year, I never thought I'd get it, so I kept thinking, "Did I catch a cold?" or "It can't be that," and didn't do anything about it. It was a miserable year.

In my second year, even though I was taking medicine I bought at the drugstore, it was too severe, so I went to the hospital and got a prescription. It was a year I somehow got through with symptomatic treatment.

Third year.
I'm determined not to repeat that experience.

In January, the moment I sensed the presence of pollen, like "He's here!", I went to the hospital and got medicine.

I also wear a mask as much as possible, and I dry my laundry indoors.
The air purifier in my house is also on.

I felt that dealing with it after my body had already reacted to the pollen was too late, so this time I tried my best to take proactive measures.

As a result, things are going well so far.

Apparently, there's a lot of pollen in Eastern Japan this year, but even so, I only sneeze occasionally and my eyes are only a little itchy.

I haven't had a stuffy nose that keeps me from sleeping, or been so miserable that I can't concentrate on work.

When it comes to problems, dealing with them after they've already occurred often puts you on the back foot and prolongs the issue.

That's why I think dealing with things in advance is important.
That's what the head of the kikkake Hay Fever Countermeasure Committee thought.

I hope to get through this year like this.

When filming kikkake's YouTube videos, considering the kitchen layout and various elements, we often shoot from the opposite side.

Therefore, when cooking and plating, we move in a way that looks good from the perspective of someone facing us.

There's a significant difference in how things look when moving without thought versus moving with consideration for how it appears from the other side.

Whether it's how I cut with a knife, or how I toss things in a pan, I try to put a little extra effort into everything to make it look even better.

The other day, I went to the Shinjuku Isetan Food Collection.

It's always so beautiful and delicious-looking whenever I go, and it truly tastes delicious and impressive when I actually eat it. But upon closer inspection, I noticed how much the ingredients were "facing" me.

At the supermarket, ingredients generally face the customer too, but at Isetan, their "facing" is somehow different.

Rather, the "pressure" is different. They really seem to be looking at you.

I thought, "To stop people walking by, they really need to face them this much, otherwise they won't stop."

While showing respect for the efforts and ingenuity of the store staff, I realized I had bought a lot of things.

When you catch a glimpse of some talent, the opposite of that is called "aptitude" or "suitability" (muki, fumuki), and I think it's a perfect expression.

It's not so much about whether something exists or not, but whether it's facing in the right direction or not.

That's a phrase I prefer, and it feels important.

It's been a little over a year since I started kikkake.
I really feel like I've challenged myself in many different ways.

I'm not naturally a person who enjoys challenges;
if anything, I prefer to play it safe, so I don't really like adventurous things.
However, because I started this from scratch,
everything has ultimately become a challenge.

It feels like I'm pushing my way through an impenetrable thicket,
advancing step by step, but with each small step, I encounter a crossroads of "right or left."

Each time, I make a decision and move in the direction I think is best,
but there are many situations where I can't quite decide which way to go.

Often, after having progressed quite a bit, I look back and wonder,
"What if I had gone that other way?"

When I imagine the possibilities I didn't pursue,
my imagination runs wild because I don't know the outcome,
and sometimes I feel a pull to look back.

At such times,
the challenge of "trying that other way too"
has been very effective.

If I try it and it's better, I go that way;
if it's not, I feel a sense of relief.

This "sense of relief" is quite important;
afterward, I stop fantasizing
and no longer feel a pull to look back,
allowing me to move forward.

The more things there are to do,
the more opportunities there are to look back.
So, just reducing those opportunities
makes it easier to face forward.

In that sense, too,
I truly feel every day that challenges
have a real meaning.