Mr. Toshio Nihei, the technical advisor of Donq Corporation who introduced the authentic baguette to Japan, passed away suddenly in Paris, France in early July 2022.
Mr. Nihei was called a legend by bakers in the baking industry for his overwhelming technical skills and extensive knowledge. He was active in both internal and external seminars, and devoted himself to teaching and supporting young Japanese boulangers who were going to compete in the world. In recent years, he has also devoted himself to the promotion of Pain de Lodeve as a technical advisor to the "Pain de Lodeve Promotion Committee"
In 2018, he renovated a room in an apartment near his home and opened the atelier "Archives du pain français en hommage au hommage" where visitors can browse books and reports by Professor Carvel, who introduced authentic French bread to Japan, as well as other valuable bread-related materials he personally financed and translated.
I (Reiya Watanabe) am currently making on a documentary film about bread in Japan, and our relationship began when I had the opportunity to interview Mr. Nihei in the process.
He was very attentive and courteous to a young outsider like myself, and gave me intensive lectures at his atelier for more than six hours on numerous occasions.
At lunch time, he personally baked bread, pizza, and even prepared a cheese fondue set for one person and served it to us with wine.
We had been exchanging e-mails until a few days before he passed away, and I had seen pictures of him in Paris in good health, so I was really surprised and deeply saddened by his passing.
I wanted to express this sadness in some way, so I decided to publish here the closing speech he gave at the "Pain de Lodeve Promotion Committee 10th Anniversary Party" held last year at Shinjuku Nakamuraya.
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【Toshio Nihei】
Toshio Nihei was born in Kanagawa Prefecture in 1947 and joined Donq Co. Since his training in France in 1983, he has been active in internal and external seminars, and has made efforts to teach and support young Japanese bakers who go to global competitions.
He was in charge of the bread for the dinner at the G7 Climate and Energy Environment Ministerial Meeting held in Sapporo in April 2023. He is called a legend by bakers in the bread industry for his overwhelming technical skills and wealth of knowledge.