Review - the Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai

the Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai

Publisher: Pan Macmillan
Release date: 5 October 2023

Back cover blurb: The Kamogawa Food Detectives, translated from Japanese by Jesse Kirkwood, is the first book in the bestselling, mouth-watering Japanese sleuthing series for fans of Before the Coffee Gets Cold. What’s the one dish you’d do anything to taste just one more time? Down a quiet backstreet in Kyoto exists a very special restaurant. Run by Koishi Kamogawa and her father Nagare, the Kamogawa Diner treats its customers to wonderfully extravagant meals. But that's not the main reason to stop by . . .The father-daughter duo have started advertising their services as 'food detectives'. Through ingenious investigations, they are capable of recreating a dish from their customers' pasts – dishes that may well hold the keys to unlocking forgotten memories and future happiness. From the widower looking for a specific noodle dish that his wife used to cook, to a first love's beef stew, the restaurant of lost recipes provides a link to the past – and a way to a more contented future. A bestseller in Japan, The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai is a celebration of good company and the power of a delicious meal

I absolutely adored this unique novel about a food detective agency. The original Japanese, translated in to English by Jesse Kirkwood.

A simple, short, but satisfying novel about the power of delicious food.

Have you ever had a dish from your past that you'd love to re-create one last time, but just can't get something right?

Perhaps a dish that a deceased parent used to make, or a dish from a memorable first date. 

You perhaps know the basic ingredients, but find something lacking. Or perhaps you have all the ingredients but don't know how to get them to work together to create that perfect dish.

Well then, Koishi and Nagare Kamogawa are there to find and recreate them for you.

Owner and Daughter of the secretive Kamogawa Diner in Kyoto, only discoverable by those who take the time of find the diner, and attached agency. 

The Kamogawa's don't advertise heavily. Kyoto is full of tourists at the best of times, and their diner is all about offering an authentic traditional experience, to those from their homeland that really need it... 

But it seems that one mysterious advert is all they need, word of mouth, and friendship does the rest, and the Kamogawa diner becomes a hidden Kyoto gem.

I don't want to say anymore, for risk of spoiling this wonderful book. It is beautifully written, and I would like to read more from this author ... Oh, and it really made me want to go back to Japan!!

The Kamogawa Food Detectives is available now via Amazon online and all good book shops.

Thank You to the publishers who approved my request via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.