Legendary Vancouver chef Hidekazu Tojo celebrated in new documentary playing at VIFF — Stir (2024)

IN CULINARY CIRCLES, Hidekazu Tojo is a legend. The Vancouver chef behind Tojo’s Restaurant is famous for having invented the California roll—and for helping popularize sushi across North America, making it more accessible to people unfamiliar with ingredients like seaweed. He came to Canada at age 21 from his native Kagoshima, Japan in 1971 and went on to forge a career that includes scores of awards for his cooking. Among the celebrities who have flocked to his West Broadway restaurant are Harrison Ford, Anthony Bourdain, Martha Stewart, Jamie Oliver, Tom Cruise, Robin Williams, Gwen Stefani, and others.

Tojo is the subject of a new documentary by Vancouver-based Mads K. Baekkevold, his first. The Chef & the Daruma tells Tojo’s life story while also exploring immigration and the history of the local Japanese-Canadian community.

“We did so much research—me and my creative partner on this, Natalie Murao—and read so many articles, but nothing can prepare you for meeting the real Tojo,” Baekkevold says in a Zoom interview with Stir. “There’s something special there when you’re meeting him in person. He’s a consummate showman. His omakase counter is basically his stage, and he’s performing every night for a captive audience. He has that charisma, that showman attitude that draws you in.” (Omakase literally translates to “I leave it up to you” and refers to a chef’s tasting menu.)

Baekkevold met Tojo when he was filming commercials for the Michelin Guide’s Vancouver launch a few years ago. It was while collecting B-roll footage at Tojo’s Restaurant where Baekkevold noticed a daruma sitting on a shelf.

A daruma is a porcelain figurine that symbolizes the myth of a monk who meditated for nine years, his body withering away until he was just a head. He cut off his eyelids, pledging to never sleep again. Now, the small round doll represents perseverance, wishes, dreams, and goals—fulfilled and unfulfilled. It is a lucky object and a constant reminder of ganbaru—the ability to stick it out and work hard. When you see your daruma, you remember the promise you made to yourself that you would follow your dreams. Tojo explains in the film that once you’ve decided on a goal or wish, you take a black marker and draw in the white of one pupil-less eye. Once you achieve your goal, you colour in the other one. The film divulges Tojo’s desires over the years, including leaving Japan, introducing Japanese food to Canadians, and having Canadians like his cuisine. Mission accomplished.

The film travels to Japan, where Tojo reunites with some of his seven siblings and dines at various restaurants, including the one where he first learned to cook, where he recounts what his early days as a chef were like. He learned by observing, earning the respect of his superiors. The film features scenes of Tojo slicing fresh fish, chopping seasonal vegetables, and interacting with customers at his bustling restaurant; it has images of sake-making and of Tojo visiting local farmers markets. It also has scenes with a Japanese ballet choreographer who draws parallels between cooking and dance-making, and how routine interferes with inspiration.

Baekkevold fleshes out the film with interviews with Lorene Oikawa, former president of the National Association of Japanese Canadians, who speaks to the internment of Japanese Canadians in World War II, as well as with Michael Ouchi, the food coordinator of the Powell Street Festival. Then there are appearances by Tojo’s dear friends and local chefs Pino Posteraro and Michel Jacob (both legends in their own right), and Masayoshi Baba (a former apprentice of Tojo’s). There’s a scene where Tojo, in explaining how one of the most wonderful things in life is making tasty food for people you love, gets teary-eyed.

“Tojo’s eagerness to be wide open and vulnerable with us was quite astonishing,” Baekkevold says. “He’s extremely spry and energetic, and he definitely had that feeling that ‘I really want this to be the moment that I tell my story to the world. I’m not going to hold back on anything.’ Why hold back? When you get that chance in your 70s, you leave it all on the table.”