Café Kanoya’s Fermented Deli Plate with Delicious Fermented Seasonings will Make You Smile

Café Kanoya is located in Seta, a quiet, expansive residential district between Tokyo’s Futako-tamagawa and Yoga. The café is well regarded for its lunches, which feature homemade fermented seasonings and are attracting more and more repeat customers. We spoke with the owner, Takada Kaori, about how she came to open a café and why she is focused on fermentation.

Taking on the challenge of opening a café at age 59 to live a life without regrets

Takada Kaori opened Café Kanoya in August 2023 and has been working hard ever since. After accumulating some 20 years of experience at a famous bakery café, she started her dream café. Experiences with illnesses sparked her decision to take on this new challenge at the age of 59.

Owner Takada Kaori, originally from Aomori, has used apples as her trademark since moving to Tokyo

“I lost my husband to pancreatic cancer, and the following year I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Around the time I set out to pay more attention to my diet and reevaluate my health, I came across a fermentation course taught by fermentation food specialist Kitamura Ai. I was enthralled by the fermented seasonings I learned there because they tasted better than anything else. I’d had this preconception that food that is good for your body isn’t very tasty. But these fermented seasonings were delicious and also, thankfully, easy to make.”

As she got into making her own salted koji [rice malt] and other fermented seasonings, she decided to take on her long-held dream of opening her own café. So she opened a café serving meals using the fermented seasonings she had learned.

“When I thought about the rest of my life, I was filled with the urge to take on a new challenge. Even though the people around me were against the idea, the more they told me to give it up, the more determined I became. (laughs) I decided to take on this difficult challenge because I didn’t want to regret not having tried.”

The café features antique furniture from her late-husband’s family home

Healthy fermented deli plates that satisfy the body and soul

Café Kanoya serves dishes that make generous use of fermented seasonings such as salted koji, soy sauce koji, and fermented ketchup, as well as miso and sweet koji, all handmade by Takada. The popular fermented deli plate lunch is filling and has a gorgeous visual appeal that is sure to delight when it arrives at your table. The plate focuses on vegetables, but also includes fish and meat dishes to ensure a well-balanced meal.

“Rather than making one main dish, I prepare a variety of small dishes. I use a mix of Japanese and Western seasonings to create a composition that piques people’s curiosity about what the seasonings are.”

The fermented deli plate, limited to 20 servings a day, is available during lunch hours (11 a.m. to last order at 3 p.m.)

The deli plate includes a salad with a fermented dressing made from a mixture of salted koji, sweet koji, vinegar, and oil; coleslaw containing okara [tofu pulp]; white fish with sweet koji and ume plum paste sauce; freeze-dried tofu quiche; salted koji chicken slices; steamed pumpkin with miso or sweet koji sauce; chilled tofu, which can be enjoyed with a texture similar to that of soft oboro tofu by marinating it in salted koji; and a soup made with salted koji, yogurt, and miso in a kelp broth for gut health. This arrangement of small, varied dishes is sure to both satisfy and surprise in equal measure.

Café Kanoya also has daily fermented lunch plates, such as keema curry, sandwiches, and Hainanese chicken rice. The dessert menu is also extensive, including pound cake with apples sourced from Aomori, as Takada is originally from Aomori.

Fermented keema curry flavored with spices and a Japanese-style stock. Both sweet and salted koji are used.

The fluffy pound cake is filled with plenty of apple pulp. Customers can also add desserts, such as coffee jelly or rice-flour dumplings in coconut milk, to their lunch.

“We want to serve healthy dishes that are also delicious. We use flour, butter, and other dairy products, and we use sugar in the desserts. However, we don’t want customers to fill up on just flour-made bread, but to have a balanced meal of vegetables, fish, and meat too. By infusing these items with fermented seasonings in which the umami and sweetness has been enhanced through fermentation, I think we can say our meals are healthy.”

Easy-to-use fermented seasonings when you want to take care of your body

Takada’s offerings bring both relaxation and smiles to the diner. She tries to convey the benefits of fermented seasonings through her café’s food.。

“I don’t think it’s hard at all to incorporate fermentation into your life. And using fermented seasonings is especially easy. It might be difficult to eat specific fermented foods every day, but fermented seasonings make it simple. Try using salted koji in place of salt or marinate your fish in it. If you put salted koji on tofu, wrap it in cling wrap, and leave it for a day, it will taste absolutely fantastic. I hope people can slip these fermented seasonings into their lives without much fuss.”

Takada runs the shop with her daughter

Café Kanoya has attracted an increasing number of repeat customers over the year and a half since it opened. Although she says she still has a lot to learn about the business, Takada has started to sense a response in her local community.

“A customer told me that when she’s busy and her life is getting out of control, she wants to eat our meals at Kanoya. You won’t suddenly become healthy after eating once at our café, but I’m happy that it’s become a place that people head to when they want to take care of their bodies. I’ve come to realize now that this is not just my café alone. There are the customers, and there’s the flower shop that provides the flower arrangements. I just merely planted the seed, and everyone is watering it and helping it grow. I still have more than I can manage, but I believe the café will continue to grow and flourish.”

The warmth of wood fills the café, giving it an at-home feeling you can relax in

The café also sells products from Aomori, such as tea from the Connacht Tea House and jam from Á La Ringo, that Takada recommends as small gifts