Chefs are sharing their secret recipes on Twitter and elsewhere to support apple farmers in Nagano Prefecture who were hit hard by heavy rains as a result of Typhoon No. 19.
Nearly 90 recipes for Western confectioneries and meat dishes have been shared on the internet, helping the reconstruction efforts in disaster-hit areas.
"If you buy apples from disaster-stricken orchards, why don't you make tarte tatin with them? I'd be happy if you could, because we could consume a lot of them that way."
Takayuki Kamiya, a 40-year-old chef from Aichi Prefecture who lives in France, tweeted this in late October. He also posted a picture of tarte tatin, a confectionery made with apples, and said he would provide recipes to people who bought apples from farmers in the disaster area.
Typhoon No. 19 caused extensive damage to crops, including apples, in Nagano Prefecture. The prefectural government has confirmed that more than 58 billion yen in agricultural damage was caused by soil and sand flowing into farmland. In the Hoyasu district of Nagano City, where the banks of the Chikumagawa river collapsed, apples were damaged in the harvest season.
Kamiya, who learned of the damage via the internet, wanted to work as a volunteer but couldn't. Frustrated, he came up with an idea of supporting the farmers as a chef. Chefs rarely tell people about their vital recipes, but he sent out messages with a hashtag in Japanese saying "support recipe for disaster-stricken farmers." When he's informed that someone purchased agricultural products from the disaster area, he provides them with recipes for tarte tatin and other dishes.
His tweets went viral and about 90 recipes, including those of other chefs, have been posted so far.
Yukihide Sekiguchi, 34, head chef at an Italian restaurant that has six branches in Tokyo and Kanagawa Prefecture, is one of them. "You can easily lend your support on Twitter. I'll be happy if I can encourage farmers," Kamiya said.
The movement to support farmers is spreading. In Nagano, a farmer sold out of the 1,500 kilograms of apples that he was offering through the internet.
"A chef can cook only when there is a farmer. I want to make this a long-term effort," Kamiya said.
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