My eldest daughter finished her VCE exams recently, which feels like a significant milestone for our family. Not just because our first child is about to graduate from 13 years of school – but also because my wife and I have run our fine dining restaurant since she started kindergarten.
When Saori and I opened Kazuki’s in Daylesford in regional Victoria in 2011, our eldest was only four, and our youngest (at the time) had just turned two. Starting our first restaurant wasn’t just about making good food and offering great service. There were all the other aspects to juggle for a new business operator: staffing, staying on top of our accounts, maintaining the shop building, dealing with a blocked kitchen drain or a fridge on the fritz. I worked 15 hours a day, six days a week. My body was always tense and achy; I didn’t sleep well when the restaurant wasn’t busy. Those beginnings were just about trying to get through each day.
On top of that, I was still a rookie parent. Sometimes I wonder if my children felt a bit lonely with their parents being so busy during the early years. We hired a babysitter when Saori had to work at night. Sometimes a grandparent of the children visited from Japan, but when they did Saori worked more, and the children missed their mum more – they would cry when we left for work. My eldest is kind enough to say that she doesn’t remember being lonely but I’ll never forget the day when I put her on the school bus, completely forgetting that it was a pupil-free day. About 20 minutes later, the school called, and I rushed to pick up a sad and confused looking child.
Since our families are all in Japan, it was hard to balance running a business and raising young kids without any nearby grandparents, aunties or uncles to help out. But we found something special – our “community family”. By chance, there were three families in the neighbourhood with kids of a similar age to my daughters, all without family nearby. We became close. The saying “It takes a village to raise a child” couldn’t be more true – we became our little village. The kids had countless play dates, sleepovers, lunches, dinners and birthdays together over a decade. As they’ve grown into teenagers, the village has probably completed its job of raising the kids together, but it still feels like we are one big family.
A lot has happened since our little restaurant opened. On the business side, Kazuki’s – now in Melbourne – has been recognised with restaurant industry awards. Our little girls are now teenagers and they now have a brother, who is eight years old.
Saori and I have found a better work-life balance – Saori works mostly from home and I’m in charge of the on-site operation of the business. We’ve been trying to take better care of our bodies: bushwalking, pilates. I love following Japanese and US baseball. I have the head space to keep up with what’s happening with the children, and I’m much more present and patient with them.
On my days off, the family gathers around the table while I cook – I love serving fine-dining to my customers but I cherish making home-style food for my family too. I love that my children get excited thinking about what to eat, and come up with requests for school lunches: inari sushi, gyoza and okonomiyaki are the popular options these days. Homemade nikuman (pork buns) are my eldest’s absolute favourite – I make lots so there are enough leftovers for her school lunch the next day. Her school peers gave out awards on their year 12 muck-up day and, while Kazuki’s has been awarded two “hats”, she was recognised with the “best lunches” award. When she brought it home, she said: “Thanks to you, Dad!” I thought, “This is the coolest thing ever. My hard work of raising this child has pretty much paid off.”
I’m so proud of how kind-hearted and capable she has become. I know that she will continue to grow and find a career that she loves as she explores the world. And I hope that she will continue to gather with the people she loves over food – like she’s always done with us.
Kazuki Tsuya and Saori Tsuya are the co-owners of restaurant Kazuki’s in Melbourne
