Christmas Party with Louis Monty at Ischia

The Christmas feeling is all around--- even in our little town, Tazawako.

(Ischia's Restaurant)

Hotel Ischia, formerly-known as Familio Tazawako, hosted a Christmas dinner party on December 13th.

The main chef for the night, Louis Monty is an exchange student from Quebec, Canada, studying international business at Akita International University. He has worked as a chef for 12 years before coming to Japan and has a strong background in French-Canadian cuisine. It has been 4 month since he came to Akita and soon returning to his home country. This dinner was organized by an AIU faculty along with the staffs of Ischia. While studying business here in Akita, he had wished to have an opportunity to share his cooking in collaboration of styles from his home and Akita.

Louis Monty (on the right)

The food was a fusion of French, French-Canadian, and Japanese--- French and French-Canadian styles using regional products from Akita, such as ducks, sake, persimmons, apples, and plum wine.
The party was originally planned for 40 people, which turned out that most of the people who received the invitation showed interest and ultimately, almost doubled the expected number.

Although it was the first attempt to host a non-Japanese chef at Ischia, the Ischia staff and the guest chef worked as a team in sync. The event ended up as a great success! We are hoping that they will host another or more of such events in near future.

Ischia is one of the locations where the Korean drama, Iris, was filmed. The room is now in public view together with some props and some behind-the-scenes photos taken on the shoot. The lodging and meals for the film staffs were provided by Ischia for 3 weeks. They have well-skilled chefs specializing in both Japanese and Western cuisine. The restaurant is open for lunch and coffee as well. It is located on the lakeshore Tazawako adjacent to Tazawako Herb Garden Heart Herb. If you are looking for a sophisticated resort hotel to have a relaxing spa sojourn in Tazawako, Ischia would be your best choice.

(Iris special room)

(Props and photos on view at the restaurant)