WAJIMA, Ishikawa Prefecture--A serving of sashimi here not only brought a smile to the face of a diner, but it also symbolized a turning point for this quake-devastated city and the life of a chef.

“Very delicious,” the 50-year-old customer said after devouring slices of “hiramasa” (yellowtail kingfish) and “madai” (sea bream). “This is the first time I’ve had fish from off the coast of Wajima since the earthquake.”

The Japanese-style “izakaya” pub, called Mebuki, opened on July 1, the six-month anniversary of the Noto Peninsula earthquake.

Seeing the smile on the customer’s face brought joy to the izakaya’s chef, Toshiya Ikehata, 44.

“It feels like reconstruction has finally begun,” said Ikehata, who runs the izakaya with his cook friends. “I get all misty-eyed when I think back on those six months. Each day was intense.”

Procuring food, particularly seafood, in the disaster-stricken area remains difficult.

The local port of Wajima is now unusable for fishing because the Jan. 1 earthquake raised the seabed and stranded vessels on dry land.

However, restaurant staff wanted to serve dishes using local seafood ingredients on opening day. So one of the cooks, Michio Kawakami, 64, caught the fish himself.

The customer greatly appreciated Kawakami’s effort.

“Today is a special day because people of Wajima have lived our whole lives eating Wajima fish,” he said.

Born in Wajima, Ikehata has long been serving dishes using local ingredients to residents of the city, but in a very different style.

He studied the basics of French cuisine at a vocational school in Osaka and trained at a famous restaurant.

At the age of 26, Ikehata went to France and learned authentic culinary techniques at Michelin-starred restaurants there.

After returning to Japan, he prepared food for a catering business in Wajima for about six months at the request of a neighbor.

During that time, he said he recognized the appeal of Wajima’s local ingredients.

“In France, customers came from all over the world to visit famous restaurants that use local seasonal ingredients, even in towns in the countryside. Wajima has what it takes to compete with the French countryside,” he said he thought at that time.

In September 2014, he renovated a 100-year-old house that used to be a “wajima-nuri” lacquerware workshop and opened a French restaurant called L’Atelier de Noto.

He wanted to showcase cuisine that evokes “terroir” by bringing out the best of local ingredients. The menu included spring rolls with sweetfish and roe, wild oyster flan with garland chrysanthemum sauce, veal cutlet from neighboring Anamizu town, abalone served with liver sauce, and wild mushroom soup.

Customers came from around Japan and abroad, and in 2021, L’Atelier de Noto was awarded a star in the Michelin Guide.

On New Year’s Day this year, the second floor of the restaurant was crushed in the quake. Ikehata could see the sky through the ceiling.

“I was stunned,” he recalled of the destruction of his restaurant. “What came next was a feeling of frustration.”

The following day, he began cooking and serving meals to quake victims.

At the peak, he and his cook friends prepared about 2,000 meals a day. By the end of June, they had served more than 100,000 meals.

Ikehata covered the labor costs for the cooks with donations collected by his restaurant and aid from relief organizations.

Around April, he decided to open an izakaya. He said he wanted to bring good food to residents affected by the disaster, city hall employees, and construction workers who came from outside the city to help.

He also wanted to create new jobs for cooks because the number of evacuation centers would eventually decrease and the need for soup kitchens would drop.

Ikehata bought a “kappo” restaurant in the city, raised money through crowdfunding, and opened Mebuki with 13 friends, including those who had worked in a soup kitchen with him.

Damaged buildings and debris remain around Wajima. With limited lodging facilities available, the city has yet to regain its liveliness.

“I have no choice but to accept the natural disaster,” Ikehata said. “But I can’t bear to see the future deteriorate afterward.”

He hopes his new izakaya will be a light in the darkness.

“When people eat good food, their hearts warm up and they smile. It is the mission of a chef to make that happen,” he said.