"Forest Farm Eri" Poulet Noir, one of France's three major breeds of free-range chicken.

I had the pleasure of visiting Forest Farm Meguri in Iwata Mitsuke, which produces and sells Poulet Noir, a brand of free-range chicken that is one of the three most famous free-range chicken breeds in France!

We have been distributing lifestyle-related information, mainly focusing on luxury resort hotels and Michelin-starred restaurants both domestically and internationally. However, due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, we are unable to travel abroad or even outside our prefecture as freely as we would like. Therefore, we have started an initiative to connect producers and chefs across Japan, based in Shizuoka Prefecture where we live, as we do what we can despite the pandemic.

Chef Tomoya Kawada of "SAZENKA," the first Chinese restaurant to receive three Michelin stars, recently explored ingredients from the Enshu region with a food curator as part of "ONESTORY's" FIND OUT SHIZUOKA project, and also visited the poultry farm of Masatoshi Nakayasu of "Forest Farm Eri."

The Poulet Noir chickens raised here are black chickens certified by the French Ministry of Agriculture with the Label Rouge (red label). They are characterized by their low fat content, fine texture, unique chewiness, and a flavorful, mellow, and juicy taste. *Poulet noir = French for "poulet" (chicken) and "noir" (black).

The poultry puellaris can grow to about 5 kg as an adult.
The large black chickens with impressive bright red combs become males, while the smaller black chickens become females.

Masatoshi Nakayasu, the owner of the poultry farm, has been raising chickens for about 16 years, 8 years in Haruno Town and 8 years here in Mitsuke. He carefully raises Poulet Noir, a black chicken of French origin that is rare throughout Japan.

Last year, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, they were forced to ship zero products at one point, and as a last resort, they reduced the number of animals they raised to the absolute minimum to survive the crisis, they told us.
Currently, they are actively working to introduce Poulet Noir to many people by setting up a yakitori stall at events such as the popular Hamamatsu Southern Cross Hoshino Market in the Hamamatsu Station shopping district, as well as visiting markets in Tokyo.

First, we were shown the Poulet Noir chicks, which were about two weeks old, so we went to the chick enclosure.

The chick's downy feathers are still soft and fluffy, and it's so small that it fits perfectly in the palm of your hand.

Not a hand-tamed parakeet, but a hand-tamed Poulet Noir!
Chicks that are shipped immediately after hatching are shipped with the yolk still inside their bodies, and they get their nutrition by gradually absorbing the nutrients from that yolk. The embryo surrounding the yolk is what develops into the chick, but some people think the yolk itself becomes the chick, says Nakayasu. I had never heard that before either!

It flapped its wings and returned to its companions.

The chicks are carefully raised over a period of approximately 150 days.

They have also started raising around 300 Nera chickens, a rare breed of black chicken originally from the Netherlands, which arrived in February.
The striped one is male, and the small, black-haired one is female.

Nera's eggs, renowned as "the most beautifully shaped eggs in the world" and "the most delicious eggs in the world," are expected to be laid in August, so I'm really looking forward to them!

Here, to minimize stress on the chickens, they are raised free-range on the ground. Males and females are kept together to create a more natural environment, and the number of males is kept to 10% of the number of females to ensure that the females are not overburdened.

Because the environment closely resembles that of nature, fights over territory between males are frequent. While some males exude a commanding presence, others are more like subordinates.

We were able to hear some truly valuable and graphic details, such as the fact that the black fur on the female's back is plucked out because the male mounts her and digs his claws into her during mating.

"Please come in if you'd like!" I said, and stepped inside the chicken farm. However, the Poulet Noir chickens were frightened by my approach and quickly ran away.

"It's okay, don't be scared!" I said, sitting still, and it slowly came closer!

Occasionally, some chickens try to escape, but strangely enough, they never go too far away. When it's time to put feed in the feed troughs twice a day, in the morning and evening, the escapees inevitably return to the chicken coop.

I saw them digging holes as if they were playing in the sand, but this is called sand bathing, and it is said to serve the purpose of eliminating parasites and cleaning their feathers, thus playing a role in hygiene and health management.

It seems that the number of chicks being imported has been gradually increasing since March of this year, and currently this chicken coop is raising about 1,000 chickens. However, before the pandemic, they sometimes raised as many as 2,000 chickens, so this is still only about half of what it was at its peak.

It was a peaceful afternoon, with the cheerful crowing of Poulet Noir roosters echoing throughout the air.

They lit a charcoal fire and served us yakitori grilled over charcoal in a Poulet Noir pot!

I was amazed to see him skewering the chicken himself and grilling it with such fluid, skillful movements, but it turns out he had trained at "Sumiyaki Noppo," a famous restaurant in Irino-cho, Hamamatsu, in order to set up a yakitori stall at events and such.

Mr. Nakayasu initially intended to train for only a few months, but the shop owner told him, "We can't have you stopping now," and he continued for three years.
He has already demonstrated skills at the level of a master craftsman!

To allow you to fully enjoy the flavor of the Poulet Noir, the seasoning is kept simple, using only French Guérande salt.
At the event's yakitori stall, the chicken is grilled with a secret sauce made from a unique blend of 3-year aged double-fermented Sakae soy sauce, real mirin, granulated sugar, wasanbon sugar, apple, pineapple, and kelp.

"Chicken thigh, chicken neck"

For this tasting, I was given a sample of a Poulet Noir that was about 3 months old, weighing around 1.3 kg after being gutted. The cooking was superb, and I thoroughly enjoyed the savory aroma. Even though it was thigh meat, the fat wasn't greasy, there was absolutely no unpleasant odor, and it had a light and elegant flavor. The more I chewed, the more the rich umami of the meat came out, allowing me to savor the depth of flavor.

Because the meat has a very fine texture, it retains moisture well and the yakitori doesn't get tough even when it cools down.

"Hearts, liver"

"Chicken breast, chicken tenderloin"

"Furisode (shoulder wing), chicken skin"

Finally, we'll be shown the feed shed.

According to Nakayasu, typical animal feed is made up of about 25 different multivitamins, starting with vitamin A, and also contains fungicides, antibiotics, and colorings, so it's hard to say that it's safe and secure.

Here, the only consideration given is the health of the Poulet Noir and the health of those who eat it. The cattle are fed twice a day, morning and evening, without antibiotics, chemical additives, or genetically modified feed. Instead, they are given a safe and secure feed made primarily from rice, barley, and wheat, fermented with lactic acid bacteria and yeast, and raised for approximately five months.

It appears that bamboo vinegar is also mixed into the feed, a technique only Mr. Nakayasu, who has been involved in the bamboo charcoal business for many years, could achieve.

It was clear that they are not content with the current farming conditions and are constantly thinking about how to raise chickens that are healthier and tastier, considering both the farming methods and the feed.

These organic eggs have firm, hard shells, and every single one is a fertilized egg, brimming with vitality!

The chickens here grow up freely and healthily, and because they also eat naturally growing grass, their egg yolks are a dazzlingly vibrant lemon yellow. I usually eat orange eggs, so I couldn't help but nod in agreement, thinking, "These are real eggs!"

We enjoyed some precious Poulet Noir eggs, which are only laid every two days, and finally took a commemorative photo with Mr. Nakayasu!

"Rice with a raw egg on top of Poulet Noir"

The next morning, I cracked a freshly laid egg from Poulet Noir onto freshly cooked rice, sprinkled it with Guérande salt and Taibai sesame oil, and garnished it with green onions. I thoroughly enjoyed the ultimate egg-on-rice dish, savoring the bouncy, elastic egg white, the firm yolk, and the rich, creamy flavor!

Thank you, Nakayasu-san. I'll come again!

Forest Farm Eri
Address: 1720-107 Mitsuke, Iwata City, Shizuoka Prefecture
TEL: 090-7610-6796 (Nakayasu)
https://www.instagram.com/pure0141/