finding the lost recipes of childhood

In Kyoto, there is an unassuming two-story building that has no sign. It doesn’t look like much, but once you go through the door, you will find delicious food that is comforting and centering. And if you choose, you can hire a detective to work for you, hunting down the dish that has haunted you for years. It may be a favorite from a local restaurant that closed or your favorite dish from childhood that you haven’t been able to find in decades. Either way, the Kamogawa Diner is a magical place.

The diner is run by chef Nagare and his daughter Koishi, and those who can find it and come through their doors are never disappointed. The first meal consists of bits and bobs that Nagare has put together, and most diners find it more delicious than meals they’ve had at expensive restaurants. Then, when they’ve finished their meal and tea or sake, the client will go down a long hall to Koishi’s office, where she will start the paperwork for the detective work. She listens carefully to the story the client tells about the dish they’re wanting Nagare to recreate, and gathers as much information as she can. She then hands over all her information to her father, who was a police detective before retiring and becoming a chef. And Nagare goes to work.

It doesn’t matter if they’re asked to track down the pink fried rice Koishi’s friend Hatsuko ate after school or the Hamburger Steak a confused mother just found out was her young son’s favorite dish, Nagare knows how to track down the information and find those lost recipes. So he finds out that the pink in the fried rice came from the fish sausage that was made at the company Hatsuko’s mother worked at the time, Nagare came back not just the recipe but with some extra sausages she could use to make the dish herself for her fiancé. And when Nagare discovered that it the was the woman’s own father, a chef himself, who had crafted the Hamburger Steak that was his grandson’s favorite, he brought the recipe back to her. She tasted it to discover the dish had flavors that elevated it above the humble hamburger she was expecting, and she realized her son had a more complicated palette than she’d given him credit for.

While these meals Nagare hunts down and makes for their clients may not fix all the problems in the client’s life, they do bring a sense of connection with their past and their families, and sometimes offers some wisdom for the future as well. So even when the story that brings someone to the Kamogawa Diner is painful, like the parents looking for a Christmas Cake that had been left as an offering after the death of their young son, the healing breakthrough that results can make all the difference.

The Restaurant of Lost Recipes is the a follow-up book to The Kamogawa Food Detectives. These books do not need to be read in order, or even all at once. Each of these dishes constitute a story in and of itself, so they can be gobbled up in one delicious meal or eaten slowly, enjoyed piece by piece like a fine box of chocolates. Either way, they are heart-warming and comfortable, stirring up memories of delicious meals, childhood innocence, family warmth, and the comfort of home.

I loved reading the first book when it came out in February. It was sweet and moving, telling human stories through the foods we crave through our lives. And I loved The Restaurant of Lost Recipes just as much, for the same reasons. These stories are about the best parts of being human, of chasing dreams and making memories and learning to live with grief. These foods connect us and feed our spirits, and the stories echo those same connections. These stories are beautifully written, and the descriptions of the food so delicate and delicious, and I will keep coming back for more as long as the kitchen stays open.

Egalleys for The Restaurant of Lost Recipes were provided by G.P. Putnam’s Sons through NetGalley, with many thanks