AN ITALIAN RESTAURANT
WITH THEIR OWN VEGETABLE FIELD

A dish that represents the seasons through their freshly picked vegetables

Osteria Gioia, newly relocated in September, grows over 100 kinds of vegetables and herbs yearly on their own 19sqm field in the suburbs of Kamakura. Every morning, the chef creates the menu from scratch after seeing the fresh vegetables harvested that morning. It is not wrong to say that vegetables play a leading role in Osteria Gioia’s cuisine, along with the perfect pairing of wine chosen from 200 selections.

Iida’s day starts with picking vegetables from the field

　Owner Sommelier, Hiroyuki Iida has devoted his life to “wine and agriculture” explaining that much of what he has learned in life is from the two. His life took a turn when he was traveling to France at 22, to study wine, when he happened to stop by Italy. From the food that he ate, to the friendly hospitality, to the easy-going wine, he became fascinated with Italy, Italian food and their wines.

In 1992, he joined Italian Restaurant “Riccione” (now closed) in Kamakura as a Manager Sommelier. It was then he started growing his own vegetables because he believed that he had to “take advantage of things others couldn’t do”. This decision was driven by the memory of how impressed he was with the vegetables he tasted from a neighboring farm when he visited a winery in Italy. However, as a novice farmer, he went through several failed attempts. After reading books on agriculture, learning from other farmers and through trial and error, he gradually began to successfully harvest vegetables and in 2010, he opened Osteria Gioia and inherited the vegetable field. He explains that after 10 years, he finally felt that the soil in the fields were in the condition that he had envisioned, and reminded him that working with nature was not an easy task. On his field, the vegetables that he aims to grow are ones that have both strong flavors and personalities despite being oddly shaped. His field is held together by volunteers who come several times a month, many of whom are his customers that express an interest in farming.He says some have fallen in love with farming and have been volunteering for over nine years.

There are currently a total of 90 volunteers. Someone is always working in the field on weekdays and weekends

“When you grow vegetables, you get to know how each one tastes” Iida explains. The same spinach can taste and feel different depending on how long it has been harvested. The challenge to cook those vegetables to bring out the best of them is something you wouldn’t be able to do with vegetables you buy at the supermarket.

Vegetarian appetizer are Pumpkin Soup, Dried Tomato Sformato and Potato Salada　

　The main can be changed to vegetarian dish upon request

One important thing that Osteria Gioia follows from Italian culture is that a “restaurant is a place to savor the seasons”. You would never see tomatoes, a summer vegetable, used in winter. A wide variety of vegetables are used to garnish our main dishes so that our customers can taste them themselves. The more you chew, the more grateful you are to the earth for growing these vegetables that are on your plate.