Widely hailed as one of the most talented chefs in Canada, Chef Takashi Murakami has spent the last 40 years developing food preparation to an art form as Executive Chef of the St. Charles Country Club.

Luckily, Chef Murakami’s lengthy tenure at the St. Charles leaves ample room on his C.V. for the impressive array of awards and honours he has amassed over the decades. Among them a series of gold medals and a world championship as a member and coach of Culinary Team Canada, a Chef of the Year designation by the Manitoba Chefs Association and membership in the Canadian Culinary Federation’s Honour Society. His appointment in 2005 as Member of the Order of Canada made him the second chef to receive this prestigious honour and the only one from Manitoba.

Chef Murakami has also enjoyed a long and fruitful relationship with Red River College over the years, having served on the college’s advisory committee for the last decade (the last three years of which he has acted as chairman).

As Conseiller Culinaire of Canada, Chef Murakami has had a long and distinguished career with both the National and International Jeunes Chefs Rôtisseurs Competitions over many years.

He willingly shares his knowledge with those who work with him. He has been acknowledged by countless gastronomic associations both in Canada and abroad. Chef Murakami is one of the biggest boosters of Winnipeg, Manitoba and Canada in the product selections he uses in international competitions and for the delight of the members of St. Charles. He has been instrumental in showcasing many local favourites around the world.

In a ‘question & answer’ exchange Chef Murakami expanded on his background and thoughts on the industry in which he works.

From where does your love of Gastronomy come?
As with many, if not most, involved in the culinary arts, I was captivated by the industry at a young age. I began my cooking career at 16 as an apprentice at the Restaurant Benihana in Tokyo. Aged 20, I left Tokyo for Canada. In 1975 I became Executive Chef at the St. Charles Country Club, a position I am still proud to hold some 40 years later.

Over all that time, I have been fortunate to have the stability in my career to allow me to experiment with new ingredients, flavours and concepts – and to see them enjoyed by our customers day in and day out. That’s where the real delight comes in what we do. You have to be determined to “try” and then “love” what you do.

You have obviously inspired a lot of young chefs over the years. From where do you draw your inspiration?
I think working with and being able to share your experience and knowledge with young chefs eager to learn inspires me just as much as you say I have inspired them. I also think we are called on to give back to our profession as well as to the place where we live and work. In the early years of my career, competition provided a wonderful opportunity to do that – sharing what I knew, while learning from some of the country’s top chefs, exploring exciting culinary and artistic possibilities together.

Once my own competitive career ended, I have been able to continue to be involved as a lecturer, competition judge, mentor and coach with a number of young chefs both in Canada and internationally. Seeing them achieve success in their careers and what they want to do in the culinary arts is a regular boost of adrenaline for all of us fortunate enough to be in that position. 

If you have a culinary education programme in your community, get involved.  Serve on the advisory committee; become a cooperative education employer for the Hospitality and Culinary Arts students; and mentor, support and encourage young chefs taking part in competitions— particularly those taking part in the Jeunes Chefs Rôtisseurs Competition at all levels.

What would you say have been the biggest developments in gastronomy you have witnessed in your time as a chef?
I have been fortunate to see many different approaches to gastronomy over my career: moving from Classic, Traditional Cuisine to Cuisine Nouvelle through the 1970’s and 80’s; then on to Molecular Gastronomy in the 1990’s and into the new century.

Today, we talk about scientific explanations of gastronomy and using locally farmed ingredients – perhaps we have gone full circle? Each of these stages is just as important as another in reaching where we are today – each had its own lessons to deliver and inspiration to provide. The critical part is to embrace where we are today and look to where we might go in the future.

What do you think are the most significant trends, and perhaps challenges, faced by gastronomy today? 
In my opinion, it is combining a Classic base with the desire to present something more modern. I cannot repeat enough that the challenge with this is having the courage to try something new and not be afraid of the possibility of failure. It is through failure that we truly learn how to create successes.

What do you think today’s chefs should be doing to keep moving gastronomy to a new level?
While there is always a movement towards the “new and exciting” in what we prepare, I believe that it is all rooted in the skill and knowledge gained over decades, if not centuries, of culinary experience. It is critical that all of this experience and expertise be passed on to the new generations as the foundation for what they will achieve in the future.

What advice would you give to a young and aspiring chef?
Continue to study and research. Don’t be afraid to experiment and create. Most of all get involved! Expand your horizons beyond the kitchen and the establishment.

The culinary arts offers more than just a career, it can be so much more. It can provide real opportunities to give back to the community. Here in Winnipeg, we have an annual program called “Share Our Strength”, supporting an organization that raises funds for local children’s hunger relief and nutrition education programmes. I have been honoured to work with the “Taste of the Nation Winnipeg” evening, which “brings together the city’s hottest restaurants and chefs to raise the critical funds needed to end childhood hunger”. Cooperative events like this really show how the culinary arts can contribute to the community as a whole – embrace them and get involved.