There’s not much I enjoy more in my footy weekend than having a kick-about with some good mates followed by a run down of the events that occurred on the pitch, discussed with the team over some great food. Even when one of those events happens to place me at the centre of some serious banter. One such event that sticks in my mind would be when I charged forward into the box, managing to break through the concrete wall-like defence of the opposition, only to completely and utterly scuff a pass right in front of the goal that was delivered beautifully with impeccable timing by my exasperated team mate. Even having it ripped out of me, and forced to relive that scuff repeatedly over dinner, I soon felt recharged, and ready to get back out on the pitch and have another crack, feeling that that goal would eventually be mine, and I would cease to be the cause of great laughter, by both teams. I got this power to hold my head up high again from none other than the reassuring words that came from the chef of my local pizzeria, and his healing culinary skills. Standing on the kitchen side of the counter, passing out freshly cooked pizzas from the large wood burning oven, he listened to my scuffing woes, and told me to keep my chin up.
If a kind and patient ear, along with good pizza wasn’t enough, the fact that potentially, on a different night, the very seat that I was sitting in could be filled by a player of my local and much loved team, Kyoto Sanga FC, that was motivation in itself to get back out on the pitch again. A Sanga player, could be sitting in the same seat as I, eating an amazing pizza whilst going over that day’s game with their team mates, just like I was. And just like he did to me, the chef would be slowing nodding his head to show reassurance, as his listened to their tales from the pitch. This pizzeria, frequented by the players of the local club, could also very well be the restaurant a young local player chooses to bid his farewells at, when it comes to the time to transfer to another club, as he prepares to leave the town and team where he made his debut in the world of professional football. And perhaps the pizzas crafted by the chef, his delicious and authentic Italian food, would give this young player some encouragement to take on a new challenge, and give him a pat on the back, sending him on his way.
I’m not for a second, comparing myself, the man who can’t shoot straight for toffee but loves football right down to its grass roots, to the professional players who make stadiums come alive. I simply want to introduce a restaurant where both professional and grass park players, can relax and have a good time after a day on the field. This place is a pizzeria based on the traditions and tastes of Naples, and dedicated to using only the finest local ingredients of Joyo, a small city sandwiched between Kyoto and Nara.
Just a 10 minute drive away from the training ground of Kyoto Sanga FC, and a short stroll from Joyo City Hall, this pizzeria is tucked away in a back street in a local neighbourhood, and wouldn’t catch the eyes of most passers-by. Yet this restaurant is always chocker-block with its regulars.
フットボールのある週末、気の置けない仲間達とボールを蹴った後は、お気に入りのピッツェリアでチームの仲間と一緒に、最高に美味いピザに舌鼓を打ち、わいわい言いながら今日のプレイを振り返る時間が楽しい。
1点を追いかける白熱する試合の中で、固い守備をする相手の一瞬の隙をついてゴール前へ飛び出した私に、チームメイトが出してくれた美しいパスを思い切り空振りをして、点を決め損ねたあの場面をネタにされイジられても、カウンター越しにシェフがかけてくれた優しい言葉に勇気をもらい、次こそはゴールを決めるぞと気持ちを引き締め、そして釜から出てきたばかりの熱々のピザにかぶりつく。
ひょっとすると別の夜には、今、私が座っているこの席で、私が応援している地元のプロ・フットボールクラブ、京都サンガF.C.の選手が私と同じようにこの絶品のピザを食べながら、ある試合に出場した時のことについてチームメイトと振り返っているのを、この店のシェフはそれをゆっくりと頷きながら聴いていたり、プロとしてデビューをしたこの街のクラブから、別のクラブへ移籍することになり挨拶にやってきた若い選手を、シェフ自慢の料理で激励している日もあるかもしれない。
スタジアムを沸かせるプロのフットボーラーと、私のようなパスも真っ直ぐに飛ばないような草サッカー愛好家を比ぶべくもないが、そんな両者を快く受け入れてくれる、地元城陽産の食材にこだわる本場イタリア・ナポリ仕込みのピッツェリアが、京都市と奈良市のちょうど中間に位置する城陽市にある。
‘Il Fico’, named after the Italian word for ‘fig’, which happens to be Joyo’s famous export, Il Fico is not only a fantastic pizza restaurant, the group includes another Italian restaurant, a bakery, and a winery that is to be opened in the near future. The head chef and master of cooking these magical pizzas, is Hiromasa Nakashima. Hiromasa dived into the world of culinary creation after jumping off the salaryman ship. Being a foodie and having worked already at various restaurants here and there, he quit his job with the goal of becoming a chef. The day soon came when his high school class mate, and now owner of the Il Fico Group, Mr Matsumoto, approached him and said “That pizza you made me at Kitsu Station, it made me think that there’s a business opportunity waiting. How about you join me and we do it together?”. This statement was followed rapidly by Mr Matsumoto’s astonishing request ,“So do you think you can go and do some research about it in Napoli?”. With that, Hiromasa saved up the money for the research trip, whilst working down in a pizza restaurant in Nara. And with the loving support and understanding of his wife, he left his beloved family and Japan behind, as he began his research adventure to become a pizza chef in the home of the pizza, Naples. This was quite a mission for his first time travelling abroad.
京都サンガF.C.の練習場からクルマで約10分のところにあるこのピッツェリアは、城陽市役所にほど近い、住宅街の少し奥まった場所にあるためにあまり目立たないが、お店に行くといつもお客さんで溢れている。
城陽にこだわり、城陽市の名産である「イチジク」を意味するイタリア語’il fico’という名前で、イタリアンレストランと、ピッツェリア、ベーカリー、そして、新たにワイナリーを展開している。このピッツェリアでピザを焼くのは、店長の中島啓雅さん。サラリーマンとして勤めていた会社を思い切って辞め、好きだった料理の世界に飛び込み、料理人を目指していろいろな店で働き始めた中島さんは、高校の同級生でもあったイルフィーコグループオーナーの松本さんからある日「おまえが木津駅でピザを焼いてて、それが大繁盛してる夢を見たから俺と一緒にやろう」という理由で請われ、そしてすかさず「ナポリへ行ってくれ」と松本さんに頼まれた。そして、奈良にあるピザ屋で働きながら資金を貯め、奥様の寛大な理解の元、愛する家族を日本に置き、知人のツテを頼りながら、単身イタリアのナポリへピザ職人としての修行を始めた。しかもこれが初海外というから驚きだ。
Hiromasa was introduced to a restaurant by his friend living in Italy, and he set up Hiromasa’s first training opportunity. In this first restaurant, he found it hard to get a chance to actually try his hand at anything, or learn anything at all. The owners and his colleagues rarely gave him anything to do. With too much time on his hands, and finding that the only thing he could do was sightseeing, which was absolutely not the purpose of coming all this way, he began to look for a new restaurant to train at. He managed to find a new mentor that was kind enough to take him in, with the reasoning being that Japanese people tend to be hard workers. With a huge feeling of responsibility on his shoulders, and the growing frustration of not being able to do the only thing that he had saved up and come here for, he was looking forward to getting his hands deep in dough. At first, even in the new restaurant, he found himself as the target of his mentor and colleagues on a daily basis. Their harsh words tearing away at his nerves. However, he didn’t want to satisfy the hope of some that he would just give up and quit. And he certainly didn’t want to destroy the trust that he had finally managed to build up with his new mentor to get this chance. Plus there was the responsibility he felt for not wanting to tarnish the reputation of Japanese people in Naples. He wanted to leave the locals with a good impression. No, his mission was to take home the techniques and art of pizza making, so he set out to work at that restaurant, starting at 7am and often not finishing until after midnight, working his socks off. Slowly and surely, those around him began to accept him, his colleagues calling him over to come and knead the dough together more and more. They began to show him some kindness and patience. One day, as him and his colleague were about to set out and do some deliveries on the bike, a customer came up and teasingly asked him “Where you from then?”, to which Hiromasa replied in Italian “I’m Japanese!”. His colleague, who had baited him since his arrival, then shouted back “No, no, this guy is a Neapolitan!”.
最初に紹介をされた現地の店ではなかなか仕事をさせてもらえず、休暇まで与えられたため、ヒマを持て余すようにナポリ観光をする日々が続くも、自分が背負っている責任の重さや、やるべきことが出来ない焦燥感から、ちゃんと働かせてくれる新しい店を探し始め、日本人はよく働くからという理由で、運良く受け入れてくれる店が見つかった。最初は同僚や師匠から罵倒を浴びせられる日々が続き、精神的にもかなり追い詰められたという。しかし、ここで諦めると周囲の期待を裏切ることになり、また、これまでこの街で修行をしてきた日本人が築いてきた信頼を損ねることになるため、このナポリの街に、日本人はダメだという汚名は残せないという責任感と、本場の技術を持って帰るという使命感から、その店では朝の7時から深夜12時を過ぎる頃まで、ありとあらゆる仕事をやり通したという。
しばらくすると、その働きぶりが周囲にも認められるようになり、生地を一緒に練ろうと声をかけてくるなど、同僚たちも仲間意識を示し始める。ある日、同僚とバイクで配達に出かけたところ、客先でからかい気味にどこから来たのかと聞かれ、中島さんは「日本人だよ」と答えると、かつては自分に悪口ばかりを言ってきた同僚がすかさず「違う、こいつはナポリ人だ」と言ったという。
Breathing in the Naples air, stuffing as much of the local food and wine into his body as he could, injecting Naples into his blood, Hiromasa took his mission from Mr Matsumoto incredibly seriously. Towards the end of his research adventure, he would encounter a side of Naples that would allow him to return home having completed his mission with flying colours. He was invited to dine at one of the local’s home. For Hiromasa, this was a priceless experience and the happiest of times. Not only had he been accepted into the community, but also he was able to taste real home cooking. As he passed through the front door, he walked into a house and home life completely unrecognisable to what he had in Japan. Finally he had found the real Naples he had been so desperately researching.
It goes without saying that Naples is a town with football in its heart. When there was a game on, the restaurant owner and Hiromasa’s mentor would throw down whatever he was doing and stop work to focus on the action, staring intensely at the television set up in the kitchen. You could hear the cheers and yells of the local supporters echoing out from all corners of the town, the streets filled with the voices of the locals, children kicking a ball about with each other in the street. It was in this very town and in these streets that Hiromasa had not only lived, but been able to become a member of. This was confirmed and honoured by the certificate of accomplishment that was bestowed upon his from his mentor, the restaurant owner on his last day of training.
ナポリの空気を吸い、現地の食やワインを存分に身体に入れ、それらを血や肉に変えて本当のナポリ人となって帰ってくることがオーナーの松本さんから課せられたもうひとつの条件だった中島さんは、ついに地元のナポリ人から認められたことで、現地の家庭にも招かれるようになった。そこで嬉しかったことは、この街の普通の家庭料理が食べられることだったそうだ。ドアをくぐったことで、日本とは全く違う家庭の文化に触れ、より深くナポリという街を知ることになった。
ナポリは、フットボール中心といっても過言ではないほどの街で、試合が行われている時間は師匠も仕事の手を止め、みんなで食い入るように厨房に設置されたテレビの試合中継を見つめているという。街中には地元のチームを鼓舞する歓声が溢れ、子供たちはストリートのあちらこちらでボールを蹴る姿が見られる、そんなナポリの街での暮らしにも次第に溶け込んでいくようになり、そして、お世話になった店からはついに、認定状を師匠から手渡される。
The things Hiromasa experienced during his time in Naples are things that most Japanese probably cannot even begin to imagine dealing with. A boss that refuses to work whilst a football match is on. The torment from colleagues in an unknown language. The casual nature of business over there really hit home when upon his return to Japan, he had to wait months on end for the delivery of plates for the restaurant that he had ordered in Naples, with the Italian end seeming to have little enthusiasm to send them even though he had paid upfront. For Neapolitan pizza masters though, when it comes to the serious craft of pizza making, there is no room for compromise, and their belief in their ways can induce fear into the heart of those trying to learn the way of Naples pizza. Hiromasa did not just return to Japan with some cooking skills. He knows the extent to which the pizza chefs of Naples stick to the origins of the food and maintain their region’s culinary traditions and origins. It is with this knowledge and experience that he has a vocation to bring the taste and feeling of Neapolitan pizza to Joyo. Each day he continues to give the local people the taste of real Italian food with locally raised and farmed ingredients. The Il Fico Group, is not only dedicated to bringing the authentic taste of Italy to Joyo however, they are always working on ways to raise the profile of their hometown, creating events to bring the local community together. After watching Kyoto Sanga FC players train for their next match, or having enjoyed a kick-about yourself in the neighbouring futsal court, pop into Il Fico for a post-match locally made authentic Neapolitan pizza and a sympathetic ear, to round up your Footy Weekend.
店が営業中でも、フットボールの試合がある時は仕事の手を止めてテレビに見入ったり、現地で仕入れた皿を日本へ送る手配をしても、2,3ヶ月経っても発送されていなかったことがあったりと、日本では考えられないことばかりだが、ナポリのピザ職人達は、ピザを焼くことに関しては絶対に妥協しない、すさまじいほどのこだわりを見せるという。中島さんは、ただ技術だけでなく、無駄に足さない原点の美味しさを守るというナポリのピザ職人の精神の強さを知り、城陽に帰ってきてからも、本場のナポリのピザや、イタリアンを城陽産の食材で食べてもらうことにこだわり続けている。
イルフィーコグループは、今やイタリアンやベーカリーだけでなく、新たに城陽産のワインを生み出すべくワイナリーの開発にも着手し、また、街をキレイにする活動や、地元の人気レストランを集めたイベントを開催するなど、街を巻き込んだ活動を展開している。
サンガの練習場でチームの練習を見学した後や、その練習場の横にあるサンガフットサルパークでボールを蹴った後などに立ち寄る、本場ナポリ仕込みのピザや、イタリアンに舌鼓を打つ、城陽ならではのフットボールのある週末というのをぜひ、オススメしたい。
Address:Grandir 101/102,Higashinokuchi−55−13,Terada,Joyo,Kyoto Prefecture
Phone:+81(0)774 26 2873
ピッツェリア・イルフィーコ 〒610-0121 京都府城陽市寺田東ノ口55-13グランディール101/102 0774-27-1943