I am close to producers, and when I first tried Jersey milk from Oguni, Kumamoto, I was so impressed that I immediately knew I wanted to use it to make ice cream. So I opened an ice cream specialty store in Kitakyushu. You can also use it as a dessert at Matsuyama.

Jersey cows raised on the grasslands of Aso

In Oguni, processed products such as cheese, fresh cream, and butter made from Jersey milk are generally not commercially available, but when I tried the butter made for the commercial market, I found it to be very delicious.

Normally, if producers make butter and cream and sell them nationwide, the value of the products would increase, but the cost of machinery and disposal of whey, a by-product of butter production, become an issue. However, if "HOSHINO BUTTER" becomes a hot topic in Tokyo, local people should also get excited about making better use of Jersey milk. That is one of my aims.

Regarding the name, he suggested that "since Mr. Matsuyama has been awarded a Michelin star, we would like to include a 'star' in the name." However, while chefs are recognized in restaurant guides and become famous, producers rarely get the spotlight. So with "HOSHINO BUTTER," I want the attention to be on the producers, not on me, and I want to give them stars.

The logo is two overlapping B's, the first letter of butter, with a star rising from them. The color is also inspired by butter.

The combination of red bean paste and butter is absolutely delicious, so I personally had a strong desire to try making it (laughs). When I actually made it, it was so delicious that I decided to release two products: "Red bean paste and butter dorayaki" and "Red bean paste and butter monaka."

Anko butter dorayaki: 324 yen (tax included)

I was particular about the balance of the bean paste and the butter. I loved it at room temperature with the butter inside slightly melting, but my eldest son said that it tasted better if I chilled it thoroughly in the refrigerator, so that I could really taste the butter. I think it's interesting how the taste changes with temperature.

Anko butter monaka 1 piece 324 yen (tax included)

The "Anko Butter Dorayaki" has a chewy skin that blends in with the bean paste. The "Anko Butter Monaka" has bean paste wrapped in gyuhi, which is then sandwiched between the monaka skin just before eating to create a crispy texture. The extra effort of finishing it yourself tickles the playful side of adults. I think monaka is innovative, so I personally recommend you try it at least once.

Furthermore, butter sandwiches, a limited edition product available at the time of the opening and given as a souvenir to customers of Onryori Matsuyama, have been so well received that they will be sold with a limit of 20 boxes per day. Even if a butter sandwich says "made with XX butter," many places use a different butter in the cookie dough, but this shop uses Jersey butter not only in the butter cream but also in the cookie dough. This makes the cost more expensive, but it makes a huge difference in the taste.

Butter sandwiches (8 pieces) 3,300 yen (tax included)

They often say that "a chef takes 50-point ingredients and turns them into 100-point ingredients," but I think that a real chef takes 100-point ingredients and turns them into 120-point ingredients. That's why "HOSHINO BUTTER" is just a regular dorayaki and monaka, with no elements that make it look good. But it's important that it's absolutely delicious.

In order to find the perfect ingredients, I keep an eye on my customers' opinions. The customers who come to my restaurant are all very discerning and know more than I do, so I get a lot of knowledge and information from them. And compared to other chefs, I probably travel around quite a bit in search of delicious ingredients.

Nowadays, there are fewer young people who want to become chefs. I guess they are concerned about the balance between income and working hours, and efficiency.

A young chef once told me, "If you want to be a chef, it would be better in terms of income and your own time to run multiple izakaya restaurants rather than trying to become famous at one restaurant."

However, because it is a famous restaurant, I can take on various jobs and supervise things like "HOSHINO BUTTER", so in that sense I want to show the breadth of my work to young chefs. Now that I'm over 40 and have come to be called a mid-career chef, I've started to pay more attention to the younger generation.

I once asked a young chef from my hometown, "Why don't you ask more questions?" He said that I come across as being pushy and difficult to talk to (laughs).

When I was young, I would go to famous restaurants, give them souvenirs, and ask them on social media, "This dish was really delicious, but how do you make it?" When I do that, people often tell me. I'm not really scared, so feel free to ask me anything (laughs).

I want young people to grow up with hope for many things.