Sinchelin Vol. 1

Welcome to Sinchelin(信州嵐）! I am Goto and I hope to introduce to you the exciting series of activities that are about to be kicked off by Sinchelin, along with a taste of the food culture of Matsumoto, Shinshu. 

## Who we are
Sinchelin, or (Shinshu-ran/信州嵐) in Japanese, is mainly composed of professional chefs from Matsumoto, Nagano. In this article, I will be talking about who they are and what makes them unlike any other.

[About 信州] If you are unfamiliar with Japanese geography, Shinshu (信州) is a central area in mainland Japan bordered by mountains. Although it is most famous for Soba noodles, Shinshu benefits from its abundance of natural resources that brings its cuisine to another level.

The idea of Sinchelin was initially brought up by three chefs: Mr. Hanawa, the owner of a Soba restaurant そば処 木鶏, Mr. Tomomori, a French chef who owns ラ・メゾン・グルマンディーズ in Shiojiri, and Mr. Matsuda from マツモトマウントバル which is a bar located in Matsumoto city.

I personally got to know them when I helped Mr. Hanawa hold a そば打ち seminar in San Sebastian, Spain. Every time I meet the members from Sinchelin, I feel their strong sense of commitment to their expertise.

## What makes them professional
For example, Mr. Matsui, who owns トラットリア・ジラソーレ makes decisions on what goes on his menu on a daily basis, based on information like the state of the river where the salmon he purchases comes from.

Also, according to Mr. Tomomori mentioned above, “Even if a dish uses locally grown ingredients, its deliciousness depends on how they are cooked”. He says, “A chef must first imagine the very moment the dish is served, and then cook so that the ingredient’s true 旨み becomes prevalent.” He believes that this cannot be accomplished by mass-producing factories.

However, Mr. Tomomori continues, “I can trust the Sinchelin members because they know how to handle the ingredients." I feel that Sinchelin members have naturally established a sense of community where the professional chefs all respect and trust one another.

## Sinchelin’s Activities
Now that you know more about Sinchelin, let me introduce some activities that they have been working on. In Matsumoto, they created the Central Kitchen, a large kitchen facility open to the members of Sinchelin that is equipped with various cooking apparatus. It looks like Central Kitchen is going to literally become the center for activities by Sinchelin, where they can plan future activities, share their knowledge on cooking, or simply cook and enjoy meals together.

Ok, so that was a short introduction to Sinchelin! I am very excited to see how the chefs transform the locally grown ingredients from Shinshu and their passion for coking into delicate dishes. If you are excited as well, make sure to tune in to our future activities!

Writer : Masaki Goto
Translator : Tomoe Goto