About Us

Chef Kiyoka grew up in the historic Nara prefecture of Japan surrounded by a mountain range known for its beautiful landscapes and cultural heritage sites. She discovered her passion for cooking traditional multi-course Japanese cuisine (kaiseki) at age 35. Even though she never received a formal culinary education, her dedication and precision to her craft awarded her a position as a chef at the prestigious Koraibashi Kitcho restaurant in Osaka, Japan. After working in Osaka for over a decade, she was hand-selected by the Japanese Consulate General in Atlanta to become their official chef.

In 2016, I came to the United States as the official Chef for the Consulate General of Japan in Atlanta.

I went to many supermarkets everyday but they didn't have the freshness that I see in Japanese supermarkets. And most of all, I was surprised by a few variety of local vegetables, meat, and fish.

In Japanese supermarkets, most vegetables and meat are labeled with the producer's name, photo, and harvest date. Fish are labeled with the location and date of harvest. And especially locally harvested products are displayed in the local produce section.

From around 2017, the next year, I started to see items labeled as locally produced, but they weren't as good as supermarkets in Japan. I searched for local vegetables on the Internet, but they were only available at the Farmer's Market, and I was very busy and had time constraints, so it was difficult for me to go there. Now I going to some community farmers market. They have so good items.

Why do I stick to local products? The reason is simple, because I think food safety and convenience will be maintained. Coming from far away and wanting to eat vegetables that have been stored for a long time? I don't want to eat them.

So I started applying for immigration at the end of 2019 and started volunteering at the same time. Run & Walk, Tree planting, sorting and distribution of food at Middle school, helping with Farmer's Market, food bank, etc. And I started helping at Love is Love Farm in January, 2020 and still continue to surprise me. Also I will never forget their local strawberries that I ate for the first time since I came to Atlanta. The most delicious thing I ate in America was the vegetables that Love is Love Farm shared with me. The scent of the earth, the sweetness of the vegetables and the strong taste grabbed my heart. Well, I found what I was looking for.

As a chef, I want more people to eat the most delicious and safe food.When I take bit long time to prepare delicious vegetables and cook them together with the DASHI soup that I made, it will be able to create a wonderfully delicious dish. Cooking locally harvested seasonal vegetables is the essence of Japanese cuisine. Japanese cuisine maximizes the power of ingredients.

I think it would be good if the idea of ``locally harvested and locally consumed'' takes root. But there is a limit to ``locally produced and locally consumed''. We also understand that there are productivity and distribution issues. However, I would like to say that it is about time to stop making large quantities, storing them in large quantities, and throwing them away because they cannot be consumed in large quantities. I'm sure there are various opinions, but first of all, let's eat local delicacies and know the taste of fresh food! I will help you eat deliciously.

Finally, I would like to thank Joe, Judith and all the Love is Love Farm crew!!

And I appreciate all of my friends!!

I'm sorry I still can't communicate in English.

Kiyoka Nishikawa

Cheffrey’s Kitchen LLC

Kaiseki & Shokado Bento Boxes

Kaiseki is a traditional Japanese multi-course meal involving a variety of small dishes which require meticulous preparation and detailed presentation. Since kaiseki meals do not compromise on the quality and source of the ingredients, it is not unusual to source ingredients such as clearwater fish from the surrounding landscape to provide the freshest and most delicate flavors.

Traditionally, expensive Japanese lacquer (Wajima-nuri, 輪島塗) or antique dishware are used to showcase each dish as a beautiful work of art. Each plate or bowl is carefully crafted by a skilled chef, who usually has a minimum of ten years of experience. The focus on sourcing quality ingredients and skill level required to prepare each dish leads to the high prices often associated with kaiseki.

Due to the formal and expensive nature of kaiseki, shokado bento boxes offer a more convenient and affordable option for food enthusiasts to experience traditional Japanese food culture. Shokado bento boxes allow for a kaiseki to become compact in the form of a bento box where each quadrant represents a specific type of kaiseki dish which varies based on the selection of seasonal ingredients.

Shokado bento box (松花堂弁当)

Upper left: Stewed duck, shrimp tempura, baked king mackerel, simmered egg, dashi napa cabbage

Upper right: Fluke & squid sashimi with salmon roe and daikon radish

Lower left: Stewed turnip, sweet potato, kabocha squash, & red pepper

Lower right: Futomaki & inari

Sakizuke-hassun is a one bit appetizer plate usually accompanied with sake (fermented rice alcohol).

Smoked salmon sushi ball, simmered grape leaf wrapped beef, miso cucumber, simmered Konjac, edamane, boiled snap peas, & miso spinach tofu

Sakizuke-hassun (先付け八寸)

Hassun (八寸)

Hassun is a second course one bite plate usually eaten while conversing at the beginning of a meal.

Smoked duck, strawberry brie filo, shrimp sushi ball, baked grape leaf wrapped chicken, smoked salmon wrapped carrots, dashi spinach, miso cucumber, & stewed sweet potato