Chorney-Booth: Local personal chef brings Japanese omakase home for the holidays

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Calgary has so many fabulous restaurants for those who want to go out and see and be seen, but it’s also nice to indulge in a top tier meal in the comfort of your own home. The concept of the personal or private chef – someone who will come into your home and whip up a gourmet meal for a small dinner party – has gained popularity in Calgary, with many top chefs drifting away from the grind of restaurant kitchens to focus on intimate dining experiences. The latest to join those ranks is Japanese-born Keisuke Oyama.

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Oyama’s name might be familiar to ardent restaurant fans: he’s worked in the kitchens of Japanese Village and Carino and, spurred on by the pandemic, developed a pop-up concept called Tokyo Chopsticks, which he ran out of the Shelter cocktail bar from mid-2020 until early July of this year. Noticing the growing popularity of omakase, a uniquely Japanese version of a restaurant chef’s tasting menu, Oyama set to translating the experience to a private dining setting.

The scope of a personal chef’s services may vary, but in Oyama’s case, he asks for a minimum of six guests on busy Saturday nights or four on other days of the week. Since his omakase is served on special dishware imported from Japan, he’s unable to accommodate more than 12 people. Guests can mingle in the house before and after dinner service and clients are expected to provide their own beverages, including any wine or other alcohol. It’s a nice way to get together, especially over the holidays, without having to worry about snagging a large reservation at a restaurant or dealing with parking or other downtown hassles.

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While Oyama claims to be the only Japanese personal chef in Alberta, he’s also unique in that he doesn’t do the sushi most typically associated with omakase. Instead, he’s developed a more varied menu and while much of it is very Japanese, Oyama also uses many local ingredients to give his food some Canadiana flavour, though clients can expect a few flavours from other parts of the world.

“My background in Japan was in Italian cooking, so I do Japanese omakase with an Italian flair,” he says.

Oyama’s seven-course omakase dinner will vary due to seasonality, availability of ingredients, and personal preference, but clients can generally expect some Rougie duck breast followed by a selection of Japanese seafood sashimi, a platter of Japanese appetizers, a soup course, a red meat course, risotto, and dessert. He charges $150 per person, which falls into the range of many restaurant omakase services in the city. For larger parties, Oyama offers a catering menu of passed canapés and finger foods.

Oyama says that he’s already picked many bookings through Instagram and word of mouth, but still has some capacity leading up to the holidays. For more information or to book an event, visit chefkeisuke.com.

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While Oyama is unique because of his Japanese omakase service, he’s far from the only personal chef in town. Some other top choices include:

Alex Edmonson (alexedmonson.com): this Red Seal chef and Top Chef Canada contestant has worked at some of the most renowned restaurants in the world, including Noma in Copenhagen. His seasonal menus include luxurious ingredients and plenty of contemporary fine dining techniques.

Wade Paterson (borealcuisine.com): Having developed his chops at many restaurants and golf courses around Calgary, Paterson is an eclectic chef, offering globally-inspired dinner party menus. Customization is no issue here, with anything from a pub night to an elegant anniversary party on the menu.

Darnell Japp (chefd.ca): The former chef at the prestigious Rouge and Avec restaurants and a bronze medalist at the local qualifier of Canada’s Great Kitchen Party Canadian Culinary Championship, Japp’s custom menus are pure (but still relatively affordable) opulence, utilizing ingredients like foie gras, filet mignon, and cave-aged gruyere.

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In other food news, One18 Empire, the restaurant in the downtown Marriott (820 Centre St S), recently released a new fall/winter menu and if you haven’t been in for a while, it’s worth a revisit. The restaurant, overseen by executive chef Sean Cutler, offers a refined but comforting menu of seasonal fare designed to pair well with its bar’s signature whisky cocktails while providing some warmth on a chilly Alberta night.

Cutler and his team are impressively inventive chefs, making the most of local ingredients while delivering in flavour. Highlights of the new menu include juniper and citrus bison carpaccio with pickled hasp berries and Sylvan Star Grizzly gouda cheese ($24), roasted Alberta beets on a bed of whipped mascarpone with pickled fennel ($17), subtly spicy Calabrian chicken with chimichurri and fried confit potatoes ($48) and an impressive double beef “Eye of Rib” dish, with the eye of the steak served on top of the smoked rib cap ($56). The idea is to present the restaurant not just as a hotel lounge, but as a local favourite for Calgarians as well. And if that food isn’t enough to get you in, One18 Empire still offers build-it-yourself tableside smoked old-fashioned service.

Elizabeth Chorney-Booth can be reached at elizabooth@gmail.com. Follow her on Instagram at @elizabooth or sign up for her newsletter at hungrycalgary.substack.com.

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