You are what you eat――of anyone I have ever met, these words most perfectly describe Mr. Don Foley, the owner and chef of Good Honest Grub in Shibuya, Tokyo. The two-story cafe,welcomes people with unwinding Bossa Novva music and scents from overseas, drawing them into where they can recall their faraway homes in the bustle of this never-sleeping city.

"Because I was the youngest of 12 in my family, the kitchen was where I belonged," says the Canadian chef, who came to Japan 16 years ago after living in many different parts of the world, including Australia, New Zealand, Europe, and Asia. Mr. Foley opened his first restaurant in Nishiazabu, which was followed by restaurants in Ebisu and Harajuku. Since then, his restaurant has been serving mouth-watering delights to many Tokyo gourmands with various fusion foods, including Italian, French, Mexican and other western dishes. "Most of our customers are foreigners, just like our cuisine," he says. And as being a vegetarian is not a rare among foreigners, the restaurant never forgets to serve vegetarian meals, in which one can savor fresh veggies that come from Mr. Foley's own farm in Fujinomiya, Shizuoka.

The name of the restaurant, Good Honest Grub, is a paraphrase of the restaurant's concept: "I tell my staff to treat customers the way they want to be treated, and it's just the same for the food we serve," Mr. Foley says. "We love to be happy and healthy, so what we serve for our customer is also healthy, which makes you and your body happy."  Even their cookies and carrot cakes are made to be what he calls "healthy junk food", with less sugar or butter. "We've just been honest to what we think is good."

"When Japanese customers come in, they often care too much if they're being rude and repeat 'Suimasen( "I'm sorry" in Japanese )' to us, but they don' t need to. I mean, we want our customers to just be relaxed and feel at home, and call my place their second home" says Mr. Foley.

GHG Harajuku was closed two years ago to keep that stance; the restaurant became quite big and demanded that he manage more of the business side, which didn't allow him much time to communicate with his customers. "It was not something I wanted," he explains. "Since I grew up in a small town where people are very close together, personal contact is very important."

At GHG Shibuya, which is smaller than his former Harajuku restaurant, Mr. Foley comes up and talks to customers himself, especially new ones, to give a detailed explanation of the dishes on the menu. "As seen with our popular weekend brunch of bacon and eggs, and French toast, 'simple but you just can't get them anywhere else' is what you experience at GHG."

Mr. Don Foley pokes fun but also is very peaceful and calm, which makes people smile naturally. According to him, it is his new home that puts him so at ease. "The very respectful and harmonious aspect of Japan has made me even more appreciative. And I think this is why I fit in Japan so well, since that's the way my parents raised me, with many 'Thank yous' and 'Pleases'". says Mr. Foley.

Living in Japan and seeing many foreigners in Tokyo, Mr. Foley believes in meeting new people and learning new cultures. "It's sad if you just hang out with people from the same country when you are in an entirely different part of the world. Go outside and experience Japan. I even tell that to my foreign customers when I visit their homes for catering service and see them living in the restricted worlds of their penthouses." And he thinks that to understand Japan, rather than expecting the country to change, is something we should always remember. "Pay attention to what people do and respect it, and then you'll be enjoying the unique culture of the country."

Mr. Foley, however, is still learning about the Japanese culture even after living here for so long. "One day, a Japanese woman came in and asked me for two pancakes and three pieces of French toast...and she ate them all like they were nothing. You know, she was as tiny and skinny as any other Japanese women!"