The video I’m posting here is my favorite type of thing to watch. I love watching artisans, people considered tops in their field, demonstrate how they make their wares. I love watching the hand movement of masters, honed through tens of thousands of hours, operating without wasted motion.

　　This video is as good as it gets. It’s of chef Tatsuru Rai, who alongside his wife operates the 12-seat Sobatei Rakuichi in Hokkaido, considered one of the great soba noodle restaurants of the world. This was filmed in 2014 at MAD Symposium, a non-profit global food conference, and it’s broadcast with a reverence normally devoted to a papal mass. Rai makes, cooks, and serves his soba in silence, and it’s absolutely gorgeous to behold.