www.slashfood.com/2006/05/16/the-extreme-cuisine-of-kaz-yamamoto
Meat Chef Kazuki "Kaz" Yamamoto is on the cutting edge of cuisine. And by "cutting edge," what I mean is that he cooks rare, occasionally immoral, and sometimes outright illegal, foods for those who are willing to pay for them. Based out of Arizona, he travels to homes of rich and/or famous clients and plies them with previously untasted delicacies from his traveling "restaurant, known as "Le Menu". Because his client list includes government officials and gastronomes alike, Yamamoto says he has had few problems in the past obtaining locations, including restaurants, to hold his dinners.
pygmy owl, roasted and eaten whole, with entrails and bones intact; Other items that Yamamoto is famed for include chimpanzee stew (protected), grilled intestines of brown bear (poached from Yosemite), rhino genitals, gila monster, giraffe tongue, monkey tartare and a dozen variations on penguin meat. Some exotic animals, including hippos and zebra, can be imported and "consumed under little-known loopholes in the US Endangered Species Act of 1973," and while Yamamoto takes advantage of this, much of his game is obtained illegally. Not worried about law enforcement that is "too old and stupid" to catch him, he does take a lot of precautions. For example, he ships game that he has hunted (or poached) himself in special containers via FedEx. The rest, he seems to get through bribery and on the black market, as not too many people raise their Bichon Frise puppy on cream and veal for seven months before slaughtering. Apparently, $500 will buy a monkey from a guard at the Phoenix zoo.
article by Mr Lemons, which is well-worth the read, provides a fascinating glimpse into the life and mind of Chef Yamamoto and what drives him to his passion for cooking, as well as uncovering his borderline-frightening desire to go above and beyond with every meal. I can't say that I'm not disturbed - because I am - by Lemon's willingness to sample these foods, though far less than I am by the methods by which Yamamoto obtained them. Of course, this is because there is one aspect of Yamamoto's cuisine that goes beyond the morality of hunting mother penguins. It is something that Mr Lemons admits to tasting and that is, in extreme understatement, highly unusual: human flesh.
It seems almost beside the point to mention that the chef admits to an "agreement with some local mortuaries to harvest kidneys and other internal organs for him from children and teenagers who have died in car accidents" and that he said, "One day I hope I can cook whole Mexican." For the moment, this cuisine extremist will continue to cook in the southwest, but, perhaps not surprisingly, Yamamoto is considering a move to Europe, where he feels he can be more adventurous and more open. If he has ideas about how he can "out-do" what he has already done, I don't think that I want to know what they are.
A restaurant critic's checklist (5/16/2006) Reader Comments (Page 1) 1 I am sorry, but that man is sick, and I hope that he does get arrested, and put in jail for a very, very long time. There are reasons for animals and plants to be protected by law from being killed and eaten. The entire world is not here for humanity to senselessly destroy and consume. Anyone who would pay this man to cook the flesh of poor people deserves to go to jail, too.
Barbara 0 stars 2 Barbara, you definitely do not need to apologize for taking that position. I quite agree with you and have a feeling that so do many, many others.
This man needs a cooking show and also needs several Michelin stars for being able to successfully cook such a variety. Although I must admit that this story looks like a ruse.
i mean, with lines like "Oh, yes, Mr Ted Nugent is my good friend," he relates, casually. and those pics, like the angelina jolie autographed pic, "To Yammi, The greatest Chef I know,"signed "Angelina Jolie."
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