Sake Bar Uhei

Table of Contents

1. The Bar in a Hidden Sidestreet in the Trendy Ginza - Sake Bar Uhei
2. The Starting Point - Working During University
   
3. Expanding His Horizons in Hamamatsu
4. Getting Results in Ginza and Becoming Independent
5. It was the Company that Set the Stage
6. A Commitment to Kitchenware
7. Customers Told Me the Taste is Different
8. Good Sharpness Equals Improved Taste
9. Taste is Important, Yet People Are Too
10. A Determination to Train People
11. Restaurant Information
12. Chef Hori's Recommended Kitchen Knives

In 2017, amidst the opening of Ginza SIX in Tokyo's Ginza district, there was an establishment tucked away on a side street which also opened, albeit more quietly.

Sake Bar Uhei

Hori has a long history as a master in one of Ginza's prime locations. Perhaps because of this, a group of enthusiasts formed a community on social media, where regulars exchanged information about both the bar and Hori himself.

How was the beloved Sake Bar Uhei born?

Hori is originally from Yamagata Prefecture, and he attended Hirosaki University's Education faculty. He felt the need to work part-time to support himself, so he began his career at an izakaya called Sake Bar Shu near his boarding home.

While he admits he should have been job hunting, he couldn't imagine himself working as a salaryman. His desire to do something on his on in the future was strong. So before graduating, he approached Sake Bar Shu's owner and asked to work there fully. The owner's response was "It would be ungrateful to your parents if I hired you before you graduate," so he started working there after graduating university.

The owner not only sliced sashimi with his yanagiba, but he also peeled vegetables and shredded cabbage with it. He had previously worked as a banker and ventured into the restaurant business after quitting that, so Hori thinks the owner developed his own unique approach towards cooking. Hori learned from him how to make the best use of the resources at hand and come up with creative solutions.

At the time, Hori didn't have much money. His father gave him a kitchen knife about 1 shaku (300mm) long. He still uses that knife today, although it has become much shorter over the years.

Sake Bar Shu's owner had many apprentices, but it was quite common for the senior apprentices to leave after four to five years. Hori also left the owner's tutelage at 26 years old, moving onto a prestigious traditional Japanese restaurant chain in Hamamatsu City that his father recommended to him.

Combining his part-time work from his second year of university onwards, Hori stayed at Sake Bar Shu for about six and a half years.

Hori was able to greatly expand his culinary skills in Hamamatsu by working in a variety of roles, such as cooking hot pot, side dishes, catering, and working in kaiseki cuisine. He believes that his experiences in Hamamatsu really broadened his abilities as a chef. While he couldn't work with these at the time, he still frequently encountered ingredients like softshell turtle and fugu (blowfish) on the menu, which expanded his culinary horizons.

There were many people working along with Hori, and as he gained experience, including working as an acting manager, he felt that he had developed the capability to manage a restaurant, at least to a certain extent. So, at 30 years of age, he decided to challenge himself in the heart of Japan itself, Tokyo, joining a Japanese restaurant chain there.

Hori had pride in his culinary skills after honing them in his own way, but when he was entrusted with running the main section of the restaurant, he couldn't get used to the "Tokyo way" of doing things. It was more than just cooking; management also involved creating the menu. This part was a huge challenge for him.

During Hori's time in management, there was a company opening a new restaurant in Ginza that offered him a store manager position. Initially, that company's president wanted to focus on Japanese sake as the main attraction while featuring rare delicacies in the menu. However, as they adapted to customer feedback, the restuarant gradually expanded its food offerings as the store gained more and more acclaim.

Due to this recognition, the store experienced over an over 150% growth in sales compared to sales for the previous year three months in a row, which greatly boosted Hori's confidence.

The company then suggesged that they wanted to separate and make that restaurant an independent venture, because the business had expanded too rapidly. However, Hori was suffering a chronic illness, so he informed them that he had to undergo surgery before considering this offer. In the three days he took off for the surgery, another person had already taken over the restaurant.

That person quit after only one month.

While Hori was recovering, he initially thought "I've had enough, and I should quit for good." However, a customer who had always supported him invited him out for drinks, which helped him reevaluae the situation. He realized that part of teh reason he had reached this point was because, in his words, "the company set the stage for him and always prepared for him."

In the end, he decided to continue working with the company's group of restaurants. He worked at various restaurants in that group, but found it unfulfilling. He still had a strong desire to own and operate his own restaurant. He talked to the company about it, and they allowed him to take over the Ginza restaurant once the previous owner leaves.

However, due to circumstances related to the company's property contracts and head office, they couldn't continue to run the restaurant. This was Hori's turning point to start a restaurant from scratch, and is how Sake Bar Uhei came into being.

Hori built this restaurant from the ground up, from sourcing his own fund to searching for the right property. He takes pride in the fact that he was able to do all of this from scratch.

Hori used to think that "good sharpness" referred to how well a knife could cut, or how sharp it was. These days, he now believes that the true meaning is "how much the taste of ingredients improves when you cut with that knife."

If using a good knife is more efficient for improving his cooking skills, he'll definitely consider adding it to his collection.

Naturally, Hori wants to create delicious dishes and have a restaurant with many customers, but he also wants to make the restaurant a place where relationships are formed between customers and him, as well as between customers themselves. A place where the owner can see the each of each customer, and where the owner can aim to create a soothing and enjoyable atmosphere. The very first restaurant Hori worked at had this atmosphere.

Infact, his restaurants's name Sake Bar Uhei is derived from Sake Bar Shu where he first worked, switching Shu for Uhei, the name of his parents' company, even though they are in entirely different industries.

Hori really wants to study culinary history and eventually teach the origins of and preparation of food, educating people on how to cook. While the food and beverage industry can be unpredictable, and he's unsure of how long his physical stamina will last, he originally graduated from the Education Faculty in university, which gives him a desire to nurture others.

He also wants to do things different compared to the more old-fashioned hierarchical structure within restaurants, and the tradition of not readily teaching skills to the younger generations. For younger people today, there are many new career opportunities, and there's much greater ease of access to options that can be pursued with less risk. Hori still believes that the fact that it is difficult to recruit people even very directly, and that many people quit immediately, are customs that this industry has created which needs to be changed.

The concept of ascetic practices in itself has died out. It's not about enduring hardship for the sake of gaining skills, but at the same time a person's true value comes from their high level of skill. Hori's old mentor used to say "I had a tough time, but it doesn't mean you'll become a skilled chef by just enduring it. If you don't understand something, don't hesitate to ask, and I'll teach you."i

In a world where most jobs have emerged in only the past few decades, the profession of a chef has existed for centuries. The artistry of Japanese cuisine may also diminish if we make working in the field and teaching it too strict, so people decide to leave. Hori wants to convey the beauty of being a chef, which his mentor instilled in him.

The ability to build relationships and be a source of comfort for others.