Tetsuya’s is one of Sydney’s most iconic restaurants—a bright star on Australia’s Japanese dining scene for over 30 years. From within a heritage-listed site on Kent Street, complete with a tranquil Japanese garden, chef Tetsuya Wakuda OAM has wooed generations with his finessed traditional fare—and a certain confit of ocean trout that remains to be one of Sydney’s most loved dishes.
Chef Tetsuya has been named a Sake Samurai and honoured by the Japanese government as a “Master of Cuisine”—but there’s so much more to his mastery than the culinary accolades he has earned.
In an exclusive first, Urban List is sharing The Process—a brand new monthly video series that goes behind the scenes of each dish at Tetsuya’s. Alongside head chef Josh Raine, you’ll venture to Australian duck farms and cattle ranges, wild coastlines, hidden wine cellars, yuzu fruit farms, and more. It’s a paddock to plate journey that maps some of the country’s best producers, especially those farming with sustainability front of mind.
“The idea behind the process is to get to know our key suppliers who have amazing stories and incredible produce,” explains Raine. “The nurture, respect, and love from the products embody our cooking methods and how we, in turn, treat these products with the utmost respect, especially having held and seen these products first hand.”
“Tetsuya has been building his relationships for generations,” Raine continues. “Tetsuya is renowned for resourcing the best suppliers in the country, going from ocean trout to Mooloolaba tuna, spanner crab, and fresh wasabi from Tasmania.
"We are trying to tell the story of the process, it has taken him over the years to source and gather and discover these producers. The relationships mean everything to him and to the extended restaurant team.”
Episode one of The Process takes us to Tathra Place—a free-range regenerative farm near Wombeyan Caves in NSW.
Airing exclusively on Urban List Sydney Instagram and Facebook from Wednesday 2 June at 8pm, Tathra Place is home to Maremma free range ducks who play a vital part in the eco-friendly farm’s regenerative system, rebuilding topsoils, increasing organic matter, and sequestering carbon from the atmosphere and into the ground.
Here, ducks are free to graze on chemical-free pasture and a priority is placed on the health of the soil. This delicate process benefits the ducks, the environment, and the consumer, in a natural symbiotic relationship.
To watch The Process, head over to Urban List Sydney Instagram or Facebook. New episodes will air monthly, on the first Wednesday of each month at 8pm.
Love Japanese cuisine? Check out our hit-list of the best Japanese restaurants in Sydney right now.
Image credit: Tetsuya's