Silver linings are never guaranteed. When the Yamagai brothers saw their historic family restaurant consumed by flames in 2005, it is unlikely they ever envisaged it would rise from the ashes to become a beacon of gastronomy in their hometown in the far north of Niigata Prefecture.
What they did know, however, was that they were dead set on rebuilding after the fire. And, more importantly, that they would take charge in the kitchen. Unlike the four generations of their family who preceded them, they did not intend to hire an outside chef: Instead, they would be handling the cooking themselves.
After all, both had already undergone their training and culinary apprenticeships in Kyoto — first Shinsuke Yamagai, the elder brother (now 47), followed a couple of years later by his sibling Ryota (16 months his junior). Working side by side, they were planning bigger changes that would lift their restaurant, Shintaku, firmly out of its musty past and into a much more contemporary gastronomic relevance.
