At Ventinove, Tuscan specialties taken to new heights

Japan Times

15-03-2025

The road leading up to Ventinove is neither arduous nor particularly scenic. Climbing steadily from the western fringe of the Kanto Plain, you make your way through tidy, prosperous rural communities in the foothills of the mountains of central Gunma Prefecture until you arrive at Kawaba Village on the southern slope of Mount Hotaka. When you finally see woodlands, you know you're really close.
The upland air is clear and chilly as you step from your car. Sunlight filters through a sylvan canopy of leaves. The sound of rushing water reaches your ears, nearby but out of sight. And there, tucked away behind the historic Tsuchida sake brewery and overlooking a watercourse that feeds into the mighty Tone River, stands a low-slung building incongruous with its sleek, angular architecture: Ventinove, destination restaurant par excellence.
Ventinove is not a large operation — it has just two tables for four people plus a private room seating eight — but the dining room is enviably spacious, with huge, floor-to-ceiling picture windows that frame the changing scenery and seasons. It also still feels very new.
Chef Yusuke Takeuchi chose Ventinove as the name of his restaurant to reflect both his training in Italian cuisine and his focus on meat. |
TAKAO OHTA
When chef Yusuke Takeuchi and his wife Mai opened Ventinove in October 2022, they decided they would handle every part of the process themselves — he in the kitchen but also out hunting and foraging; she in charge of the front of the house. So, to keep their workload manageable, they now only serve a maximum of eight people (and just two groups) each day.
By contrast, at their previous restaurant, the hugely popular Trattoria 29 in Tokyo's Nishiogikubo district, they turned tables twice each evening. The drawback: They found themselves so under pressure and stretched for time they were unable to develop the menu any further.
Trattoria 29 was a firm favorite of the local community for the best part of nine years, since February 2011. It was doing well until, without warning, they were told in late 2019 that the building was being redeveloped and they'd have to be out by the end of March 2020. Unable to secure new premises in the neighborhood and hamstrung by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, they eventually decided to relocate to Takeuchi's hometown in Gunma.
The excellence of 'bistecca alla Fiorentina' (Florentine steak) lies in the contrasting rare meat at the center and the crisp, well-browned exterior, and at Ventinove, the results speak for themselves. |
TAKAO OHTA
Although Takeuchi was born in Tokyo, his father had developed a deep connection with Kawaba Village and used to lead outdoor activities for city kids there. By the time the family moved there when Takeuchi was 10, he had already been taking part in the annual summer camps run by his father in the nearby forests. For him, the move to Kawaba was revelatory.
"I realized that, having left when I was 18, I had no idea about this land,' he says. 'I was amazed at its richness and, as a chef, excited by the sheer abundance of ingredients in the fields, mountains, rice paddies and rivers."
Takeuchi now sources just about every ingredient he needs from within the prefecture, including meat, cheese and river fish — although he serves no seafood, as Gunma is landlocked. The only exceptions are the olive oil and hard Italian cheese, some seasonings and the wine in his cellar (also from Italy).
The spacious dining room at Ventinove looks out over the forested foothills in Kawaba, Gunma Prefecture. |
TAKAO OHTA
The move to the mountains has facilitated another major evolution in his cuisine. All the cooking at Ventinove is now done over locally sourced firewood (rather than charcoal), either in the grill or, indirectly, on a large cooker converted from a traditional kamado stove.
These two essential workhorses stand in Takeuchi's open kitchen, along with the worktop where he prepares his dishes. While there are no seats at this counter, guests are encouraged to stand and watch him as he explains the ingredients while readying his hyper-seasonal omakase (chef's special) menu.
Even those visiting for the first time can guess from the name Takeuchi's primary culinary focus. 'Ventinove' is Italian for "29," but it is also a clue to his particular area of expertise: In Japanese, 29 can be read as "ni-ku," a homophone for the word for "meat."
The focus of chef Yusuke Takeuchi's open kitchen — and his meat-centric cuisine — is his wood-fired grill. |
TAKAO OHTA
From 2006 through 2008, Takeuchi was in central Italy, training and polishing his skills in restaurant kitchens. In his final year, he went to work for Dario Cecchini, arguably the best (and certainly best-known) butcher and meat restaurant in the country. There, he learned how to break down and make the best use of entire carcasses. He also picked up a great recipe for lampredotto, the most famous of Florentine tripe dishes, which he now serves as part of every meal.
More importantly, he also learned the secrets of preparing bistecca alla Fiorentina (Florentine steak), often considered the crowning glory of Tuscan cuisine. This is a loin steak on the bone — in Florence it is supposed to be about three fingers (5 to 6 centimeters) thick — which must be grilled over live coals (charcoal or wood fire) till it is crisp and browned but still with pink, rare meat inside.
This has become a signature dish for Takeuchi, one he used to grill over charcoal at his Tokyo trattoria. Now, using his new wood-fired grill at Ventinove, he has finessed his technique. The essential first step is to warm the meat sufficiently just outside the grill beforehand. This shortens the time it needs to spend over the embers and produces the best contrast of rare and well-browned meat.
In deference to Japanese appetites (and budgets), he offers a cut much thinner than a classic Florentine steak at just 1½ cm. As with all his ingredients, Takeuchi sources his beef locally, primarily using Akagi cattle, a breed raised on the slopes of the nearby sacred Mount Akagi, which he ages a couple of months before it's ready for the grill.
Chef Yusuke Takeuchi and his wife Mai opened Ventinove in October 2022, relocating to Gunma Prefecture after they had to close their Tokyo trattoria on short notice during the COVID-19 pandemic. |
TAKAO OHTA
Interestingly, he does not rub the meat with salt or any other seasoning before putting it on the grill. He says the aromas of the wood smoke, combined with the complex flavors of the Maillard reaction (the browning process), are all that's needed. The results speak for themselves.
This bistecca forms the centerpiece of Ventinove's upper (¥18,500) menu, which also includes three different pasta dishes. Alternatively, there is a ¥15,500 menu that includes two meat courses — sirloin steak and another dish (duck, chicken or wild meats such as bear or boar in winter) — with a choice of two pastas.
Either way, another highlight is the salad course. Takeuchi will come to the table carrying a large, wide, well-worn wooden bowl that was once used to mix the dough for farmhouse noodles. Now it holds the component ingredients for preparing mayonnaise from scratch.
He first rubs a jumbo clove of garlic across the bottom of the bowl and mashes up an onsen tamago (soft-boiled egg), then drizzles in extra virgin olive oil and local cider vinegar. Once this is all mixed, he blends in the salad ingredients one by one.
These may include some or all of the following: chopped kaki (persimmon); pieces of sōmen kabocha (spaghetti squash); julienned root vegetables (several varieties of daikon, carrot and beet) and leafy greens. Finally, after plating this salad, he grates Parmesan cheese over the top.
Chef Yusuke Takeuchi's signature dish is his on-bone 'bistecca alla Fiorentina' (Florentine steak), which he prepares from local Akagi-gyu beef aged around 60 days. |
TAKAO OHTA
Besides the entertainment of this table-side performance, it is also an opportunity to observe Takeuchi in action close-up and to find out more about the provenance of the various ingredients.
After the meat course, he will return to the table with another wooden bowl, this time as a show-and-tell of the day's half-dozen pastas, all of which will be prepared fresh (gnocchi and risotto are also options). In Italy, these would normally precede the meat dishes. Here, following the Japanese pattern, pasta and rice are the final course, followed only by a seasonal dessert.
It is a fabulous meal in a superb setting: so good that you may not want to tear yourself away, especially if you have delved into the possibilities of Ventinove's wine cellar and are not prepared to drive any further. Fortunately, the Takeuchis have this covered. Upstairs, they provide simple lodging (an extra ¥20,000; hearty breakfast included). Alternatively, there are several onsen (hot springs) and winter sports facilities in the vicinity, where the accommodations range from functional to luxurious.
By car, it takes around 40 minutes to Jomo Kogen, the nearest Shinkansen station, and about 10 minutes longer to Takasaki. But it is worth allowing more time than that just to take in the scenery. And before leaving the village, drop by the Kawaba Denen Plaza, a classy michi-no-eki (roadside stop) that boasts noodle and pizza restaurants, a well-stocked farmers market, fresh-made cheese and even fruit-picking in season — along with the usual refreshments and souvenirs.
Yachi 2593-1, Kawaba Village, Tone-gun, Gunma 378-0101; 29ventinove.com; open 3-7 p.m. (last order), closed Wed. & Thu.; omakase (chef's choice) menus ¥15,500 & ¥18,500, wine pairings from ¥8,000; nearest stations Numata, Jomo Kogen; no smoking; some English spoken