Gunma [VENTINOVE] ~ Editor's Afterword by the Editor-in-Chief of Japan's Gourmet Site "Hitosara"

Update-Date: Jun 28, 2025

Author: Katsuhiro Konishi

Categories: Italian

Gunma [VENTINOVE] ~ Editor's Afterword by the Editor-in-Chief of Japan's Gourmet Site "Hitosara"

They visited [VENTINOVE] located in Kawaba Village in the northeastern part of Gunma. It is a luxurious auberge that accommodates only one group per day, but it is also possible to use the restaurant only. Chef Yusuke Takeuchi, who closed the popular [Trattoria 29] in Nishi-Ogikubo, Tokyo, and returned to his hometown, makes full use of local ingredients and offers dishes cooked with wood fire.

Katsuhiro Konishi

Editor-in-Chief of Japanese Gourmet Website “Hitosara”

An editor and travel writer who has traveled to 100 countries, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. After graduating from university, he moved to Europe and embarked on a global culinary journey through approximately 100 countries. He started his career at Kyodo News and then joined Chuo Koronsha to assist in establishing the Japanese edition of GQ. Before taking on this current position, he was the founding editor-in-chief of two magazines and an IT company advisor.

VENTINOVE is located within the premises of Tsuchida Sake Brewery. When proceeding along a small path marked by a tiny signboard, a beautiful detached house appears. Inside, the first floor is a restaurant, and outside the large windows, the autumn leaves are beginning to change color (at the time of the interview).

Colorful ingredients are placed on the counter, and Chef Takeuchi is checking the wood fire. Yes, the only heat source is this wood fire.

Gunma [Ventinove] (ventinove) ~ Editor's Postscript by the Editor-in-Chief of Hitosara

Gunma [Ventinove] (ventinove) ~ Editor-in-Chief's Afterword of Hitosara

The chef says, "Except for olive oil and Parmigiano, we basically prepare ingredients sourced within a 30-minute drive from here. The meat is Akagi beef. Also, since we have natural maitake mushrooms today, we will serve those." His wife explains the menu and drinks.

Since he was thirsty, he ordered a cider called "Numata Apple Dry." It is a cider made from fully ripe apples produced in Numata City, with a fine texture due to secondary fermentation in the bottle, and contains 8% alcohol. He should be careful not to drink too much.

Their meal starts at 3:00 PM.

There are 4 types of appetizers.
First, there is a pie baked with ancient rice topped with char fish eggs. It has a pleasantly popping texture.
Then, there are salsiccia made from wild boar and bear meat, accompanied by figs. It is very refreshing.

The second dish is Yamadoridake. It is a Japanese porcini. This is a sformato made from it. It uses ripe persimmons and sweet chestnuts, and on top are nasturtium leaves, which are said to be harvested from the garden. The colors evoke autumn, but the umami is concentrated.

The third dish featured wild maitake mushrooms grilled over firewood. It was served on a bed of barley risotto. A fragrant aroma filled the air. The dish was completed with a harmony of flavors from wild grape sauce and grated paprika and carrot. The maitake retained a unique fresh texture, evoking the essence of the earth.

With the same cider, there was also one containing blueberries, so it was paired with that. It brought the feeling of an autumn forest.

The fourth dish is a stewed offal. "It can't be made without fresh offal," says the chef. "Offal is also commonly eaten in Tuscany, where I trained. I tried to adapt it forcibly into a Gunma-style dish (laughs)."

The peach-like turnip called "Momosuke" is slowly steamed for about 3 hours and pairs well with the light-flavored offal. The texture of the green beans and makomo bamboo shoots is also nice.

"There is chili oil, so you can add a little to change the flavor," says his wife. This is good too. But if you add too much, the spiciness will catch up with you later.

The fourth dish is a hearty stew of offal. "It can't be made without fresh offal," says the chef. "Offal is also commonly eaten in Tuscany, where I trained. I tried to adapt it forcibly into a Gunma-style dish (laughs)."

The peach-like turnip called "Momosuke" is slowly steamed for about 3 hours, pairing well with the light-flavored offal. The texture of the green beans and makomo bamboo shoots is also nice.

"There is chili oil for a change of flavor," says the chef's wife. This is good too. But if you add too much, the spiciness will catch up with you later.

While the meat is grilled over firewood, a salad is served. Root vegetables such as daikon radish and carrots, leafy greens like komatsuna, kale, and Italian parsley, dried persimmons, eggs, Parmigiano, jumbo garlic... are mixed together in a large bowl with apple vinegar and other ingredients. This bowl is said to have been used by the chef's family to make udon noodles at their home.

A variety of vegetables that are refreshing yet evoke the power of nature. This is something one would want to eat every day.

Since the meat was coming, they had the wine changed to Chianti.

The bistecca is truly aromatic, and when cut, it reveals a beautiful ruby-like red. It is enjoyed with salt and fig sauce. The tender bistecca seems like it could be eaten in multiple servings.

Outside, it has begun to get dark. Autumn nights come early, don't they?

And then the pasta appears.

They said, "We make handmade pasta using wheat flour and eggs from Gunma. Please choose 3 types. We also have risotto." It was a difficult choice, but this time, they chose pasta, gnocchi, and risotto.

First is the taro gnocchi. It is large for gnocchi, filled with wild boar ragù, and served with a fragrant mushroom sauce. This is also a concentration of umami.

Next is pasta. The idea of fresh tomato with chitarra also crossed their mind, but they chose pappardelle with Bolognese. This is said to be a specialty of this restaurant.

Finally, it is risotto made with new rice from Kawaba. He is satisfied.

The dessert was a pumpkin Mont Blanc and walnut and burnt caramel gelato. He had coffee at the end.

He felt like staying here overnight as it was, but it was almost time to go home. It was completely dark outside. He could hear the footsteps of the approaching winter.

Disclaimer: All information is accurate at time of publication.

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