Endo at The Rotunda, London ｜ February 2022
Sushi Chef KAZUTOSHI ENDO
Tuna Fisherman HAJIME TANAKA
Chef Endo san never stop challenging and every time I dine here, there are new surprises and discoveries. This time, what stroke me the most was his SETORO – Chutoro just under the dorsal fin. And most importantly, this tuna was from Hajime Tanaka san – a Japanese tuna fisherman based in Portugal.
Normally, toro is mostly found in the belly. But Se-Toro, as the name suggests, is the Se(back) side and has a different flavour to belly toro.
“ I chose this part for you tonight”
said Endo san.
“ This is connoisseur’s toro, and we sushi chefs love it”
The differences in taste was distinct ( at least for me ). However, at first I had no words to describe it. I really didn’t know how to express this special flavour.
It was complexed. It has layers, characters, strength and appealing, still none of the words fully describe what I was tasting.
After a while, as I was exchanging opinions with Endo san, I finally found the right word.
“Taste of things lived “
A life lived on this beautiful planet.
I then suddenly visualised an image and almost felt it.
A great large fish swimming boldly in the big ocean. It was as if I could feel the temperature of the ocean, as if I were slicing through a mass of water with my whole shiny smooth body. A precious life that could only grow in the wild was now reborn at Endo san’s sushi counter that night.
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A few days later, I asked Tanaka san about Setoro and and received a reply that utterly surprised me.
“The back of the fish has less fat than the belly, so the characteristics of the fish are more pronounced.
On the other hand, the fat is the part of the fish where the characteristics are less evident.
The characteristics of a fish are the way it has lived its life.
In other words, it is the back that shows how the tuna has lived.
The smell of the sea, where the tuna lives.
The scent of the food that the tuna eats.
The distance the tuna has swam, the tightness of its muscles.
All of these things can be seen in the parts with less fat.
The less fat there is, the more sensitive we are to it.
You have to use every senses in your body to taste it “
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Tanaka san has deep love and tremendous passions for this noble creature.
He pays respects and is thanking the fish everyday.
I thank Endo san and Tanaka san for having shown me one of the most precious and beautiful things of this earth can give.
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Endo at The Rotunda
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Hajime Tanaka
www.instagram.com/tanakahajime.bftlabo
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- Extra photos of Tuna/Maguro: Even farmed tuna from Spain become superb Nigiri by chef Endo-san’s spreme Edomae skills.
