Hirotake's French restaurant "Porto Blanc" (Honmachi, Hirosaki, TEL 0172-33-5087)'s 250-yen take-out product offered at the 25th anniversary project is currently attracting attention.

Located near Hirosaki University Hospital, this French restaurant mainly uses ingredients from Aomori prefecture. Nobuyuki Shirato, the owner chef, opened on July 21, 1995.

Mr. Shirato is from Fujisaki, and tried to go on to the painting path, but he was opposed by his parents and went to Hattori Nutrition College (Tokyo). After graduating, he gained experience at Ginza and Roppongi French, and joined Hotel Hokke Club Hirosaki. Having traveled to France and trained at a 1-star restaurant, he became independent at the age of 32, saying, "I want to own my own store."

The origin of the store name is French, which means "white door" from its name. Mr. Shirato smiles, "It was originally "La Porte Blanche", but it was difficult to remember and I changed it to "Porte Blanc"." In February of last year, we opened a second store with a full reservation system under the name "La Porte Blanche" (Kamigawagacho). Mr. Shirato said, “A restaurant that offers course dishes that you want to eat with a theme different from Port Blanc”.

The 25th anniversary project has been considered since last year. Initially, I was thinking of course meals of 25,000 yen and 2,500 yen, but since the demand for takeout increased due to the influence of the new coronavirus, I started thinking about products to offer for 250 yen in April. “I never thought of doing a 25th anniversary project for 250 yen,” says Shirato.

There are 9 kinds of menus, such as "scallop salmon rolls", "Tsugaru chicken roll herb flavor", "Owani shamoloch liver pate", "prefecture garlic pork apple juice boiled", and there are also days to prepare surprise menus. All of the homemade course dishes are vacuum packed.

When it started selling on April 11, there are days when it will be sold out, such as not only one but also multiple people who buy it and enjoy it at home or send it to family outside the prefecture. "Thanks to 25 years of appreciation, I really want to enjoy it slowly in the store. Unfortunately, it's a time when it doesn't come true. In addition to nine types, I'm also starting to think about a 500 yen menu."

There are no plans for events on the day of the 25th anniversary, and they are thinking about what the service should be like after the new coronavirus is over. “The future challenge is to create a store where people can eat with peace of mind.”

Takeout time is from 11:30 to 20:00. Normal business hours are 11:30-14:30, 17:00-21:00. Closed on Sundays. Depending on the infection situation, it may be changed such as shortening business hours.