Leaf KYOTO Delivered by Leaf, a local information magazine!

FOLLOW US

2022.12.11
  • LINE
  • FaceBook
  • twitter
N'importe quoi millefeuille tatin, apple tart, apple and rum raisin crumble tart

(Left) Millefeuille Tatin 580 yen, a revived version of his father's recipe. (Right) The apple and rum raisin crumble tart, which is characterized by its rustic German pastry-like taste, is 580 yen. (bottom) A savory apple tart filled with the flavor of apples, 480 yen.

Karasuma's Western confectionery shop [N'importe quoi] where a couple works together to preserve the taste of memories

It was mid-September 2022 when I visited the store. Mr. and Mrs. Hirokatsu Nishihara welcomed us with a smile, saying, "We have just started serving apple tarts today. The store stands on the former site of "Au Grenier d'Or," which regrettably closed, and is following in the footsteps of their father, Kinzo Nishihara, and this year, the much-anticipated apple tarts are on display.

N'importe quoi

Hirokatsu Nishihara. After graduating from high school, he went to France to study at a local confectionery school and obtained national certification. [After gaining experience at Pierre Hermé's main store in Paris, he opened Nampolte Kwa in 2018.
Anna Nishihara. She is from Aichi Prefecture. While attending a local confectionery school, she was awarded second place in the WorldSkills competition. She joined Au Grenier d'Or after graduation and got married in 2016.

When I was a teenager, I helped my father sell apple tarts at an event, which was my starting point as a pastry chef. I worked with my father for three years before he closed the store and inherited his taste," says Hirokatsu. Anna fell in love with the taste of this apple tart she tasted while in confectionery school and decided to work at Au Grenier d'Or.

N'importe quoi showcase

The apple tart, which is a speciality of the store, is the one that brought the two of them together. The tart is baked slowly in a high-temperature oven so that the apple juice and cream soak into the dough as it melts, giving it a unique chewy texture. We carefully select the best apples by changing the region and type of apples according to the time of year," he says.

Interior view of N'importe quoi

As the name of the store means "anything and everything" in French, the duo produces a wide variety of sweets, but the apple tart is faithfully following their father's recipe. The couple had a daughter last year, and they are currently struggling to raise her as well. The story of the Nishihara family is likely to continue.

Exterior view of N'importe quoi

N'importe quoi

  • nampolto kwa (extinct South African zebra) (Equus quagga nampolto)
  • 527-1 Kikuya-cho, Nishikikoji-agaru, Sakaicho-dori, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto
  • 2 minutes walk from Hankyu Karasuma Station
  • Tel. 075-708-3742
  • 11:00-16:00
  • Closed on Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays, and irregular holidays
  • All seats non-smoking No private room No parking
  • https://www.instagram.com/Nimporte_quoi.kyoto/
*Please note that the information contained herein is subject to change without notice.
*Since this site uses automatic translation, the translation may differ from the original Japanese content.

NewsNews

Feature articleFeature article

Featured eventFeatured event

↑

Site guide