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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. When Stephen Lemons, the Phoenix New Times food critic joined in a dinner, he sampled foods such as Saguaro cactus salad, made from the legally protected succulent; tenderloin of Bichon Frise, endangered pygmy owl, roasted and eaten whole, with entrails and bones intact; and nigiri-style seal sushi.
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 U.S. 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. "Same for sea lion at Sea World."
The 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.
"'There many Mexican immigrant need money,' confides Yamamoto during [Lemon's] inspection of his Anthem residence.'Sometime they sell me kidney, arm or leg, or just slice of liver. Very, very expenseeve. These Mexican never have to work for year, I tell you. And Mexican liver with onion? Is sooo deleeshus. You must try.'" He says that his clients who have enjoyed the experience of cannibalism include Senator Jon Kyl, Marlon Brando and Phil Gordon. 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.
[Image of Yamamoto in his home freezer with a seal head in his hand from the cover of Phoenix New Times]
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5-16-2006 @7:43PM Barbara said... 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.
And he wants to cook a whole Mexican? He buys body parts from poor people. What a perverse bastard!
Anyone who would pay this man to cook the flesh of poor people deserves to go to jail, too.
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5-16-2006 @7:46PM Nicole Weston said... 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.
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5-16-2006 @8:31PM Andrew M. said... Uh, folks? This isn't real. Check out the full, non-print version of the story. You're treated to an Onion-esque slideshow of images like this one, and if that's not a Photoshop...
Anyway: immoral, perverse, sick, but satirical.
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5-16-2006 @8:32PM Andrew M. said... There should've been some links in there:
The story is at http://phoenixnewtimes.com/Issues/2006-05-11/news/feature_full.html
and the image is
http://media.newtimes.com/id/44017/Story%20Photo
(the last URL looks weird, but works)
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5-16-2006 @8:48PM Finished.Law.School said... Soudns delicious. 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.
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5-16-2006 @9:03PM Nicole Weston said... Andrew - Those links are already in the post, but thanks for linking to them again.
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5-16-2006 @9:52PM tr said... this is totally a fake. i mean, with lines like "Oh, yes, Mr. Ted Nugent is my good friend," he relates, casually. "We hunt penguin together. I cook for his family many time. The Nuge have a really big kitchen."
The Nuge? come on...
and those pics, like the angelina jolie autographed pic, "To Yammi, The greatest Chef I know,"signed "Angelina Jolie."
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5-16-2006 @11:45PM Maureen said... Hoax.
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5-17-2006 @9:20AM Gobo said... A very elaborate fake, but this is a fake. I mean, come on, tell me this is real:
"Nuge, he shoot flaming arrow at one penguin, and scare many away. Penguin explode, they have so much oil in body. He run down and eat it right there, while still on arrow! He can't wait, he so hungry for penguin."
A very disturbing, completely disgusting fake, at that.
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5-17-2006 @11:54AM Al said... Haha, well played. I read this yesterday (just the summary, not the article) and walked away beleiving it. Later that night, I remembered I had a brain, and used it.
This harps so specifically on trigger issues for both the left (endangered species) and the right (immigrants) that it became obvious that it was a fake, deliberately designed to enrage as many people as possible.
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5-17-2006 @1:07PM gino said... this guy captured my interest, i wanted to see more of Kaz Yamamoto, then I searched on him and found a woman's livejournal... she sent a letter to the Arizona Attorney General and PETA, here's what happened...
Dear Kelly:
Thank you for your letter. You're right that the Phoenix New Times article is outrageous, but it is also a hoax. The paper has a tradition of publishing fictitious stories like this one every year or so. After I saw the story, I called a friend who is a longtime reporter at the paper, and he confirmed the story was phony.
Another giveway: Near the end, the story says PETA was contacted for comment but had none. I'm familiar with PETA, and this never happens. I sent them a link to the story, and they sent a letter to New Times. I thought you might like to see it, so it's pasted below.
Sincerely,
Steve M. Wilson
Director of Communications
Arizona Attorney General's Office
Dear Editor,
Regarding the article "Xtreme Cuisine" on chef Kaz Yamamoto (May 11), we at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) would like to thank the author for making it clearer than ever that eating flesh from any animal-human, endangered, domesticated companion, or otherwise-is morally backwards. Indeed, for the animals who are tortured and consumed by the billions each year in the U.S. alone, a dog is a pig is a giraffe is a tuna. From bichon frise to Bumblebee-bound fish, each of these beings have their own interests and lives-and their day planners don't include being butchered by anyone, especially not a fictional chef whose gustatory preferences align him closer to Jeffrey Dahmer than Wolfgang Puck.
Unfortunately for the author, Stephen Lemons, his journalistic practices are on a similar track as his character's menus-a lot more Jayson Blair than Edward R. Murrow. Although imaginative in his fabrications, Lemons made the mistake of fudging a very simple detail-his attempts to contact PETA. No member of the media, no matter how controversial or inconsequential the issue at hand, is ever ignored by our hardworking Communications Department.
Mr. Lemons, we invite you and "Mr. Yamamoto" to visit www.VegCooking.com, where you will find a smorgasbord of daring dishes featuring that most exotic of ingredients: tofu.
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5-17-2006 @1:34PM Joe said... Discussed here. And, yeah, it's an obvious hoax.
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5-17-2006 @3:07PM Joe said... Dang, stripped my link. Discussed here:
http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/51594
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5-18-2006 @4:02PM Baron said... This sounds like it was pulled straight from the movie, The Freshman. Very good flick at that!
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8-11-2006 @9:20PM veg said... This article is a reflection on the credability of The New Times publication. They simply print lies without considering the ethics and responsibility involved with researching political issues. But, it may not be entirely The New Times fault. The AZ bourgeoisie drink this swill reporting up like thier over-priced Vladimir vodka martinis.
Cheers to The New Times for printing shit! I never read that paper anyway.
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