Alex Szwalek

My guest Melanie yesterday said “it tastes like a summer morning after rain”. It’s fresh, it’s warm, smells like herb garden. And it’s moist too. Spinach uszka filled with hand-shelled ton of peas and baby fava. Lots of fresh majoram, a big bunch of dill too. Just a bit of garlic, generous black pepper in the filling and on the dumplin when you serve. Fennel butter works insane. (But terragon just always beats it all). I warm up butter aside and pour it over warm dumplings rather than cook them in it. When making dough- boiling water always, generous splash of oil. Let it rest, keep it slightly sticky, add flour while rolling out. I never use eggs, but I do use soft flour. Babcia works on her dough for 15 minutes- I let my rest and work on it less. Boil just so they swim up +3 minutes.

FIRST KAMASU THIS SEASON!

The time I found a tiny crab in my Hamaguri 🐚🦪🐚🦪🐚🦪

“Reading Nature” x @firstplace.jp @nadoya.jp Last week we have finished a rain season in the most poetic way one could ask for. On two last days of hushed skies, wet leaves and stones and quiet sound of rain- me and @ryohei_takamatsu served a menu that embodied and celebrated this time of the year. After sharing our thoughts, memories, observations and reflections we dreamed and cooked a course that together with wines selected and served by genius @samojunn felt like droplets on my skin. Thank you Ryohei for dreaming with me and making cooking feel like and adventure in nature. And also making it feel like home. It took me a week to process and reflect on this magical time. Work has never before felt so inspiring, exciting, tender yet so joyful. I dream, work, create and grow with a team of people I love and admire so much. Thank you so much @ryohei_takamatsu @nanami_okamoto_ @a_krkw @hljod_tokyo @samojunn @miho_kawamura_ @yukom075 @soooo_kooooooo 🤍 Food @olaszwalek @ryohei_takamatsu @a_krkw Plants and setting @hljod_tokyo @nadoya.jp Photos @nanami_okamoto_ Wine @samojunn @gubigubi_official Production @firstplace.jp @miho_kawamura_ & the best team! @firstplace.jp @miele @nadoya.jp Part 1 - the Dinner

YOSHIKUNI IIDA from „YOSHIKUNI IIDA - Sculpture&Drawing- NOV. 1986” - book that I recently found for equivalent of 50 cents ❣️

Good morning 🌱🌿

Corriander seed, miyoga, shiso and koji fish sauce, cold dashi. Sudachi & shiso soda. I love summer!

The moments before “Reading Nature” - our event in collaboration with @firstplace.jp and @nadoya.jp last week. Thinking about Nadoya’s incredibly inspiring space, where the boundary between indoors and outdoors almost disappears and and about the body of work of Takuma, Ryohei, and my own, I realized that what connects all of our practices is a quiet, attentive observation of our surroundings. It is from this place of observation that each of us begins our creative process, drawing inspiration from nature and the materials that surround us. The concept of „Reading Nature” allowed us to capture the essence of rain season- one of my most favourite times of the year. While Ryohei @ryohei_takamatsu and I were preparing the meal, Takuma @hljod_tokyo and Okamura-san from Nadoya @nadoya.jp created an extraordinary scenography, transporting us into the heart of a humid forest. The sound of dripping water, wet stones, and the deep green of living plants reaching into the interior made it feel as though we could almost sense delicate droplets of dew on our skin. The greatest gift of my work is the opportunity to dream, imagine, and create alongside people who experience the world with such sensitivity- people who notice and celebrate the nuance. No one could have captured these moments more beautifully than Nanami @nanami_okamoto_ . With her sensitive, deeply observant eye, she preserves the memory of these fleeting moments and allows us to share this world with others. Thank you thank you thank you🌱🍃

The moments before “Reading Nature” - our event in collaboration with @firstplace.jp and @nadoya.jp last week. Thinking about Nadoya’s incredibly inspiring space, where the boundary between indoors and outdoors almost disappears and and about the body of work of Takuma, Ryohei, and my own, I realized that what connects all of our practices is a quiet, attentive observation of our surroundings. It is from this place of observation that each of us begins our creative process, drawing inspiration from nature and the materials that surround us. The concept of „Reading Nature” allowed us to capture the essence of rain season- one of my most favourite times of the year. While Ryohei @ryohei_takamatsu and I were preparing the meal, Takuma @hljod_tokyo and Okamura-san from Nadoya @nadoya.jp created an extraordinary scenography, transporting us into the heart of a humid forest. The sound of dripping water, wet stones, and the deep green of living plants reaching into the interior made it feel as though we could almost sense delicate droplets of dew on our skin. The greatest gift of my work is the opportunity to dream, imagine, and create alongside people who experience the world with such sensitivity- people who notice and celebrate the nuance. No one could have captured these moments more beautifully than Nanami @nanami_okamoto_ . With her sensitive, deeply observant eye, she preserves the memory of these fleeting moments and allows us to share this world with others. Thank you thank you thank you🌱🍃

Last week we had a pleasure of working in beautiful aprons - Japanese shikifu 色布 made by Yuko Kitta @yuko_kitta @kittaofficial Captured by talented Nanami Okamoto @nanami_okamoto_ during our service for @firstplace.jp @nadoya.jp

I love the rain season. I love it’s light and hushed skies, the depth of green all around. I love the dewy leaves and dewy skin. I love fresh air and the smell of damp soil. And all the herbs. I also love every minute spent in @hljod_tokyo, in my friend Takuma’s universe of sensibilities. Surrounded by all his plants and vessels made by dear @tuchinoco_doki @b_yakomono. Fig tree in the garden smells so beautifully - especially now, in this most fragrant season🌱

Californian Design. Sharyn Amii, Helen Wood Pope, Bonnie MacGilchrist, Jack R. Hopkins, Eben Haskell.