Kenji Ueda. (source: SME - Jozef Jakubčo)
Somewhat hidden below Bratislava Castle, the inconspicuous restaurant Rokkiu greets guests with warm wood, intimate atmosphere, and plant decoration on the ceiling.
The restaurant's opening last year did not cause as much of a stir as other of the capital's establishments in the past, which mostly rely on marketing teasing. Thus, very few people know that a chef who has cooked for the Japanese emperor himself works there.
Kenji Ueda is waiting behind the sushi bar, offers a modest greeting and seats me. His wife Yoko serves us coffee in paper cups and then disappears into the kitchen.
"When I was little, I wanted to be a comedian," he starts, much to my surprise. "I wanted to make people happy, entertain them. Finally, I found out that I'm neither funny nor talkative enough for that," he adds with a smile.
Cooking did not appeal to him
Kenji Ueda was born in the Japanese city of Matsuyama in Ehime Prefecture on the island of Shikoku.
"Matsuyama is a small town, similar to Bratislava," he explains in broken English. "It's famous for fishing and beautiful nature. Many people go there on holidays by the sea and in the mountains."
His father worked as a fisherman and was away from home most of the time. The work was hard and didn't appeal to Kenji. It was his mother who worked as a housewife who got him into cooking.
"I remember one time she asked me to help her out. I was probably still in elementary school then. I said I'd give it a try. After that, when I saw how much my family liked it, I realised that I can also make people happy with food," recalls the 48-year-old chef.
His attended Tsuji Culinary Collage in Osaka, where he obtained his chef's license at the age of 19.
"I didn't want to work after graduating. However, my father was strict and immediately found me a job in a hotel kitchen. It was very difficult - lack of sleep, almost no holidays. I wanted to quit," he describes the conditions.
