2009年、Birdのオープンに向けて、以前から仲良しの料理家ケンタロウと自分たちがうれしいと思える料理をメニューにしようと考えました。いろんな場所で、いつも一緒にごはんを楽しく食べてきたので、お互いの細かい趣味や嗜好を何も語らなくても分かり合える間柄です。とにかく毎回、ごはんの時間が楽しみで、とても大事でした。生瀬ヒュッテ(元、ブランジュリ タケウチ)のタケウチさんともいろいろな所に行き、一緒にごはんを食べ、感じたことを語り合ってきました。何かあるごとに相談を持ちかけ、その都度こちらの想像を遥かに超えた、おいしいレシピで答えてくれました。
ケンタロウとタケウチさん。
料理家やパン屋という枠には全く収まらない、常に好奇心旺盛でクリエイティブな2人です。この2人と考えたBirdオープン当初からの看板メニューである、Birdライス、ハンバーグ、チキンカレー、スコッチステーキ、ターキッシュサンド、そしてドーナツ。それらを”Bird CLASSIC” と呼んでいます。
2012年に出版されたTRUCKの著書、”TRUCK NEST” の中の”Bird Paper”に、それらの料理がうまれたストーリーが書かれていますので、ここに料理の写真とともに紹介します。
In 2009 while they were planning for Bird’s opening, Tok, Hiromi, and longtime friend and chef Kentaro were thinking of putting some of their favorite foods on the menu. No matter where they went, they always had a good time eating together, and seemed to know each others’ likes and dislikes without ever having to ask. Every time they were together for a meal was special.
Tok and Hiromi also went to many places and ate together with baker Takeuchi of Namaze Hutte in Nishinomiya (previously Boulangerie Takeuchi), and talked about the experiences they had. No matter what ideas the couple came to Takeuchi with, he would work diligently to surpass their expectations and could always come up with a delicious recipe.
Kentaro and Takeuchi, an atypical chef and atypical baker, two men of extraordinary creativity.
The dishes that the two of them created for Bird and have appeared on the menu ever since it opened - Bird Rice, Salisbury Steak, Chicken Curry, Scotch Steak, Turkish Bread, and Bird Doughnuts - are now, eight years later, referred to as “Bird CLASSIC.”
The stories about how they came up with those dishes, along with their pictures, are featured in the section “Bird Paper” in TRUCK’s book “TRUCK NEST,” published in 2012.