野生の菌で醸すパン、地ビール＆カフェ
日本語 English
About Talmary
In 2008, we, Itaru & Mariko Watanabe, opened our own business in Isumi City, Chiba Prefecture, as a joint venture. started baking bread using only home-made yeast and domestic wheat. We also started to collect Wild koji molds for making sake, and realised that the way the ingredients are cultivated is reflected in the fermentation, i.e. that naturally grown (fertiliser-free and pesticide-free) ingredients ferment best.
After the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and the Fukushima nuclear accident, we moved to Okayama Prefecture in search of better water and succeeded in collecting wild koji molds. We then introduced a roll milling machine and started milling locally grown wheat for use in our ingredients.
In 2015, We relocated our company to Chizu town in Tottori Prefecture in order to brew craft beer fermented exclusively with wild bacteria, utilising our skills gained from baking bread. In addition to producing and selling bread and beer and operating a café, we also started a hotel in 2022.
'The more bread and beer we make, the better the region becomes.'
In addition to running an agro-processing business that makes the most of the bounty of the satoyama, it also provides space and time to enjoy rich local food. The aim is to create a cycle within the community based on fermentation by wild fungi, and to create a sustainable town from the perspective of both the natural environment and the social environment.
Itaru Watanabe / Owner chef
Born 1971 in Higashiyamato City, Tokyo, Japan, she lived in Hungary with her father, a political economist, at the age of 23. She became interested in food and agriculture and entered the Faculty of Horticulture at Chiba University at 25. He wrote his graduation thesis on 'Organic Agriculture and Local Currency'. After working for an agricultural products distribution company, he became an apprentice baker at the age of 31. After opening his own bakery, he pursued baking with wild fungi and developed a passion for collecting wild yeast fungi. The energy he spent in a punk band as a teenager developed into a DIY spirit after becoming independent. Learnt carpentry and renovated the shop himself wherever possible.
He is currently in charge of beer brewing. He is the author of 'The Rural Bakery Found a 'Rotting Economy' (Kodansha) and co-author of 'Listen to the Voice of Fungi' (Mishima-sha) and 'The Theory of Withdrawal' (Shobunsha). The 'Rotting Economy' became a bestseller in South Korea. It has also been translated in Taiwan, China and France, and he has given lectures in Japan and abroad.
Mariko Watanabe / Director
Born 1978 in Setagaya, Tokyo. Longed to live in the countryside since childhood and developed a sense of urgency about environmental problems, and studied environmental sociology at the Faculty of Agriculture, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology. Experienced internship on farms and in environmental education in Japan, the USA and New Zealand. She explored ways to tackle environmental problems with food and agriculture as her themes. Her graduation thesis theme was 'The Possibility of Women Living in Rural Communities'. After working for an agricultural products distribution company, she moved to small agro-processing plant, where she was in charge of sales and public relations.
Since starting her own business, she has been responsible for management, including sales, planning, accounting, PR and general affairs. As a mother of one daughter and one son, she also explores artisanal parenting in the countryside. She is co-author of 'Listen to the Voice of Fungus' (Mishima-sha) and 'The Theory of Withdrawal' (Shobunsha).
In 2020, she launched a community development organisation, the Chizu Yadorigi Council, and is currently working to realise tourism that utilises local resources and long-term stays in the area.
To request a tour to Talmary or to have Itaru & Mariko Watanabe give a talk, please use this form or send an email.
'The Rural Bakery Found a 'Rotting Economy' (Kodansha)
'Listen to the Voice of Fungi' (Mishima-sha)
