Specialist subjects

Immerse yourself in a particular cooking style, regional cuisine or treasured ingredient to enjoy a new, hyper-focussed eating experience

- TONY NAYLOR

Most restaurants are generalists: be they French or Chinese, seafood or vegan, brunch or dinner spots, their menus blend national or global influences. But, for a minority of chefs and owners, food is all about specialisation, in a service style, regional cuisine or product. This month, olive salutes the deep-divers who, absorbed in their niches, enrich food for all.

PIONEERING KAISEKI

Roketsu, London The Japanese influence on Western dining is profound. Modern tasting menus, for example, owe a debt to kaiseki, a formal, multi-course Japanese dining style that has fascinated European chefs for decades. Trained at Yoshihiro Murata's three-Michelin-starred restaurant Kikunoi, Daisuke Hayashi learned the principles of kaiseki from one of its masters, and now shares its holistic ethos at London's Roketsu, a serene, minimalist counter-dining space (pictured, below). Daisuke's use of exceptional micro-seasonal ingredients, exquisite plating and bespoke Kyoto crockery are recognisable kaiseki hallmarks. More abstract kaiseki guidance gives his cooking further rigour (for example, that food should engage guests' five senses using five flavours: "saltiness, acidity, sweetness, bitterness, umami"). Across its 10 courses, Roketsu seeks to embody perfect balance in dishes such as Cornish crab, pear, air-dried onion, carrot, fennel, yuzu and dill, or smoked trout, horseradish miso and walnut. Daisuke describes himself as a humble interpreter of ingredients: "Not too much seasoning on a fresh, seasonal product. When I plate a dish, I never use the entire space." Such respectful, precise treatment of ingredients is today evident in many European restaurants, and Daisuke feels Japanese cooking will continue to influence fine dining: "Less oil, calories and plenty of umami will get attention in coming years." £190pp; roketsu.co.uk