The Intersections of Art and Food with Ken Umehara of Satan’s Coffee
At Satan’s Coffee, Ken Umehara infuses his personal worlds with imaginative dishes that nod to his Japanese roots. “Nothing fancy, more of a little El Puto Ken,” he says, describing the fashion of his food. It’s a style that encompasses his work, whether on a piece of paper or on a plate.
Born in the South of Tokyo to a family of creatives, Umehara initially moved to Barcelona to fulfill his father’s dream of becoming an artist in Europe. But while selling art at a weekend market, he met Marcos Bartolomé of Satan’s, forking a path to a career as the head chef of the distinctly punk cafe.
Today Umehara has a lineup of culinary pursuits: as well as founding the fermented drinks line, Blub Refrescos, he’s also the “freelance chef” of Pa Finolis, the acclaimed Izakaya at the Gràcia district.
I Zoomed into Ken’s life last May to talk about the intersections – and differences – of culinary and art, the world of fermented drinks, and his views on fake creatives.
How are you Ken? How have you been with the new changes?
The change was a bit strong, but more than anything, I accepted it instead of panicking or going against it. Because so many have been affected and died. That says it all. What should be done is to calm down, accept it, and wait. That’s what I’ve done. Instead of doing or saying “this is shit,” or “I’m not going to do this, I’m not going to wear a mask because I can’t breathe.” I prefer to be ugly and be uncomfortable while breathing than do this.
More than anything, you are an artist. I’ve read that your dad has had a big influence on you. What are your fondest, most vivid, memories of learning art from your dad?
We’re a family of artists. My grandfather was a poet and kimono artisan, my father is a painter, and my uncle is a well-known master of pottery. The teachers of the family are known all over Japan and to many in the United States. My father’s teacher from New York, in particular, is known worldwide. So of course, since I was little, I’ve been hearing and seeing what I was going to do. And of course, the things and ideas that you’ve seen since you were a kid stick with you.
BY KEN UMEHARA
I wanted to do art even though it wasn’t realistic, like a child’s dream that my father wanted to fulfill. From what I’ve seen and heard, what my father wanted to do is go to Europe and do art, and to learn and live like a Bohemian artist. But, he fell in love with my mother and had kids. We’re four brothers, so he couldn’t follow his dream to be an artist in order to sustain the family. One of us had to follow the family tradition; at least one of us had to be an artist. So I followed his dream. That is, to come to Europe, to make art, and “live the art.” It is a bit difficult, but well, this was my father’s dream and I followed it. Clearly, this is what has always influenced me the most.
My father’s teacher also had an influence on me. His name was Risaburo Kimura. You can find his paintings and works at MOMA New York City. He’s friends with Andy Warhol. He had many awards. There are little who have known the same. He is also known by Salvador Dali, and even has some of his things. He gifted me a Dali once, and I asked, “why are you giving this to me?” To have an artist close to you that has been a success, and to have had friends or companions who are artists, is the same as to be known worldwide. I have always been looking up to him, sort of like a teacher.
Could you tell us about your creative path from art to food? Which do you prefer?
Well, they have some differences. In the business of food, food is an actual necessity. You need it everyday. And, economically you enjoy it only for a short time because you eat it and that’s it. It’s also one of the three needs of humans: sleep (or dream), appetite, and libido. These are three things that humans need. Art is different, because, well, we don’t dream about art, we don’t eat art, and we don’t fuck art. But food is necessary — to live, and to enjoy the moment that you have with your companions, your family, or people that you want to be with.
But on the other hand, in the business of art, it’s not a necessity. It’s not a day to day need. It’s not economical, but the feeling of enjoyment lasts much longer. You can fall in love with art. I mean, sometimes you fall in love with food at first sight, you can also fall in love with food in a restaurant, but if you have eaten something the same thing every week, like paella for example, you get sick of it.
When you go to a museum or gallery, the first thing that you notice in front of their work is a “feeling”. You think of the thoughts of the artist, and where he created it, or how he came up with the techniques, and the imaginations of the author or artists. At times you get blown away by the creativity — goosebumps, tears — it is quite a sensory experience. Some people with good imaginations can get into art and take a trip, too. That’s not so much the case with food. Sure, there is a moment of “traveling”, but art is much deeper beyond what we think. You have to “see inside” the artist — and you can’t see inside the steak and where it comes from.
How did you meet Marcos (your partner at Satan’s Coffee)?
We met in a market in Barcelona. I was selling some of my stuff under the moniker “El Puto Ken”, and behind me was Marcos making coffee under the name Satan’s. I told him, “eres Satan!” And he said, “eres puto!”
I was also doing a little serving in the café of Grey Street in Raval. After meeting him, a lot happened before we finally opened. I also had been working at a restaurant on the side, as a project control for cafes and restaurants that were opening in the Gothic Quarter.
At Satan’s, they asked me, “What can you do?” I told them, well, I don’t know, what I can do is 400 recipes and good coffee. But nothing fancy, more of a little El Puto Ken.
“YOU DON’T COME TO EAT, YOU COME TO DRINK COFFEE AND ACCOMPANY IT WITH FOOD. A SECONDARY OBJECT CAN’T POSE AS A PROTAGONIST. SO WITH EVERYTHING I’VE DONE WITH FOOD, I’VE MADE SURE THAT IT DOESN’T KILL THE FLAVOR OR TASTE OF THE COFFEE.”
So you made the croiffle?! I love that!
PHOTO: SATAN’S COFFEE CO.
Yes. You have to let a lot of ideas happen. This is a similarity with art. It’s unlimited. Chefs are [only] limited by their relation to the food or techniques that they can carry out. So they have to revolutionize their ideas and techniques. Chefs have done a million things that have revolutionized food systems.
When I started working with Marcos, it was a cafetería, not a restaurant. The first thing that I told Marcos was: the protagonist is the coffee.
In other words, I’m secondary; the food is secondary. You don’t come to eat, you come to drink coffee and accompany it with food. A secondary object can’t pose as a protagonist. So with everything that I’ve done with food, I’ve made sure that it doesn’t kill the flavor or the taste of the coffee. I don’t use strong flavors in my food like garlic or fat. It always had to be: first, coffee, and then say, “how can we accompany this with food that doesn’t kill the coffee?”
Each plate comes with a preferred coffee — this coffee can go with this food, and can’t go with that food. With a café con leche, this would be best. You also have to know other types of drinks and refreshment as well. You don’t want coffee today? Okay, have Kombucha, or Ginger Beer, or Grapefruit Soda.
Drinks are always the primary and food are secondary. It’s one of the most used philosophies in cafeterias, cafe-eateries. We think this way. And you know, chefs are egoists. They say, “no, no, food has to be ‘like this’.” But you have to drop this egoism and foolishness and put yourself behind the coffee.
Speaking of those drinks, in fact, I’m really interested in your beverage project! How did this come about? When was that “a-ha!” moment in when you thought… “Hmm, drinks could work?”
I started in 2016.
Oh, a long time ago, then.
It’s been years. But before 2016, things were also blowing up. The healthy food fads—chia, granolas, oats – had also just started. The US had all these yoga stuff. We got bored quite quickly but we followed this trend. We like new things. So in around 2014, I more or less started to look at fermentation.
Fermentation is very easy. I first did pickles, and then later on, Japanese items like miso, then I started to ferment some fruits and vegetables. I more or less knew the systems of fermentation. Then I brought on Kombucha [to Marcos] and said, “let’s try this!” Both of us were like “uaaah, what is Kombucha?! What are fermented drinks?” There were thousands of information and studies about it. We tried a million times. Lots of failures as well. It’s really mathematical; you have to calculate things like temperature and time.
Where is this done, where’s the lab?
The laboratory is behind Satan’s Gotico. It’s hidden; bottles in an air-conditioned room. We’re pretty punk. Like, “Let’s do this! If they catch us, a tomar por culo,” you know?!
“WHAT PEOPLE SAY IS JUST INFORMATION. THEY AREN’T THE ONES CREATING YOUR IDEAS. THEIR INFORMATION IS VALUABLE, BUT THEY ARE NOT GOING TO BE THE ONES TO MAKE YOUR IDEAS COME TO LIFE. WHAT I’M FULFILLING, IS FOR ME.”
You’ve done a lot of collaborations, with art and food, with brands like SOLO, News and Coffee… I’m sure a lot of people in Barcelona, especially the creatives, would love to have their products exposed in the way yours has. Have you had to reach out a lot? Or do people naturally come to you?
I’ve had to reach out, but there’s been a lot of help too. Marcos has helped a lot. He likes to investigate the information I give him, and later, he filters it. So the concepts have been combined and filtered out, more or less. There’s a line of certain rationality that you need to have. And we rely on this. Because if you don’t rely on it, you can’t continue with what you want to do — we did what we wanted to do because these ideas would not have come to me otherwise. Some have succeeded, so how can I think badly. But a lot of it is by luck. Of course, later, I back them up with data and see if it is a good idea that’s compact, well inferred and well done.
[Marcos and I] have trusted in each other a lot — and we have also fought a lot — but we have trusted each other a lot after being together for many years. It’s not like we are married, but we are a pair. He has what I don’t have, and I have what he doesn’t have. With the people that come to us as well, what they say and what they do to us is significant, but there are a lot of shits as well. I’m grateful to the people that tell me or teach me things. Because of them, we’ve achieved things, realized things, good ideas, other businesses and all. But in the end, you have to trust in yourself. What people say is just information. They aren’t the ones creating your ideas. Their information is valuable, but they are not going to be the ones to make your ideas come to life. What I’m fulfilling is for me.
Also, a lot of those ideas, this is going to be a bit negative, but they come from ideas de escaparate…
PHOTO: SATAN’S COFFEE CO.
What are Ideas de Escaparate? “Showcase Ideas?”
Showcase Ideas — Ideas de Escaparate — when the ideas aren’t yours. You see a showcase or exhibition and say, “wow! How nice!” to this idea. And you do it yourself. There are lots of people like this.
Likewise, on the internet, I have seen recipe trends that have come out of nowhere, and as if the ideas had been theirs. These are also like “showcase ideas.” They aren’t yours. It isn’t real. In a storefront with good clothes, you say “how pretty!” and sometimes, you put it on and it doesn’t fit you. People think that since it looks good on the store window, it will fit them. Same with showcase ideas. They think that the idea is going to fit them. It’s a little misleading.
The people think that “oh, this is going to make money! I have seen this, let’s do this, we have to do this.” It’s shit because, where did you get this fucking idea from?
There are a lot of ideas that don’t work, but sometimes they give us good information. And later I investigate the idea they tell me about, feel it out a little, give a little criticism. I’m not perfect, I am a learner, but I am a hard worker. I can distinguish or select between what is good and what is bad. It’s because of the experiences that I have lived through and the things that I’ve tried. Personally, I like that they tell me [their ideas], just don’t obligate me to do things, or else I’ll *punches air* “¡A la mierda!” …But Marcos is the same. This is why we are good. We can distinguish and say "this is bad, this is good". Also, we have mutual friends. Good creatives too.
There are a lot of creatives in Barcelona, no?
There are. But Barcelona’s a bit difficult. Whether or not you think so, that’s fine. But you also have to know that there are a lot of fakes. There is a lot of fake creativity, it’s true, a lot of people that take what the other person makes. In other words, “copy and paste.” That’s what I mean by “showcase ideas”: to take ideas from showcases and make them as if they were yours. I understand this is the case with graphic design — there are a lot of people who work like this and make graphic designs. This I understand. But for some that call themselves artists, contemporary artists, fine artists… and they take an idea and just add another part, make it look like something else, and the public like it. Someone would say, “Ken, look! How nice, no?” And I’d tell them, “no, this is the style of some artist from 1922.”
Artists can fool a lot of people. To fool, or to not say where they got their influences from. I say where I get mine. If someone comes out with the same thing, well, fine. But for the artists, or the artists that know a little, who follow their master’s style, add an element of their own, and then it’s something else. People think, “wow! Que guapo” - to a copy. But the copy sells better, because he or she can sell it well.
I can say this for food, too. They make paella, for example, but you call it another name. Paella is paella, but their paella “is not paella, it is whatever." It is very difficult. For this reason, I say there are many creative people in Barcelona, or the whole world, in any city, but do not believe everything they do or say. You have to take a few steps back.
Did you have a lot of ideas during the quarantine?
No, I thought I would. Lots of people would say, “uah, you have so much time to draw” and stuff. I thought that I’d have the whole day to draw, I’d have the whole day to create. But nothing happened. The opposite actually. During the first few weeks, with the news, I saw the numbers of deaths and all. I didn’t feel right to use the time to enjoy. I did a little, but I thought even more.
I managed to fix some stuff, like my website, for example. I did do some shirts, however, because it was for someone who ran a saile de baile (dancehall). There was a lot of movement and colors and some really fun stuff. It wasn’t a thing of “I’m going to make money,” it was more of “let’s cheer up a little!” ♦
“DURING THE FIRST FEW WEEKS, IT DIDN’T FEEL RIGHT TO USE THE TIME TO ENJOY. I DID A LITTLE, BUT I THOUGHT EVEN MORE.”