Nene Azami __hot__ -

Today, three Michelin-starred vegetarian restaurants in Tokyo and Kyoto now have a "Nene Azami Course" on their menu. Key features include:

because of her traditional, meticulous approach to cooking. Azami officially becomes the Headmaster nene azami

In an age of sustainability, the meatless, dairy-free, hyper-local cooking of looks less like ancient history and more like the future. She did not invent shojin ryori , but she saved it from becoming a bland, ascetic punishment. She did not invent shojin ryori , but

Chefs realized that had solved the problem modern vegan gastronomy struggles with: depth without meat. They claimed that using sesame as a primary

Her greatest conflict was with the Honzen-ryū chefs of the Tokugawa shogunate. They claimed that using sesame as a primary fat source (to mimic animal fat) was "peasant food."

Whether you are a chef, a vegan traveler in Kyoto, or a history buff, remember the name: —the shadow who illuminated Japanese taste.