The Kamogawa Food Detectives

I normally publish about non-fiction books, but I read The Kamogawa Food Detectives and I wanted to share my thoughts.

The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai is the perfect blend between a mystery book and a foodie’s dream.

Nagare Kamogawa and his daughter, Koishi, run a restaurant where they serve high-quality Japanese food. The difference between them and other restaurants is their unique offer, “We find your food” as they announced in the Gourmet Monthly magazine.

Each chapter is a small story where the customer wants to eat again some dish from a long time ago. You will meet 6 interesting people while they deal with the cards life has dealt them.

Nagare travels around the country to investigate the insights Koishi’s keen sense of observation gives them.

Not only do they discover the dish the customer is asking for, they dig up the customer’s memories thanks to a perfect mise-en-place and the food itself.

Kamogawa diner not only prepares the highest quality dishes, they also help customers with their feelings, like therapy through food. This is a book that shows the power food has to connect people and bring cherished memories to life.

You will fall in love with their father-daughter dynamic and their relationship with regular customers like Tae.

There are some Western dishes included but the attention to detail in the Japanese dishes and Kyoto trought the seasons is astonishing. You will go to the supermarket to buy the ingredients for some of these dishes and you will also check out Kyoto.

This is a low-stake, relaxing book. No huge plots, just relaxing. The best way to describe what it instills is peace and Japanese food cravings.

Allow yourself to visit Kyoto through the seasons with Nagare, Koishi, Tae and many more while enjoying top-notch food.