Chef’s cutting board

Tokyo’s gathering of world restaurateurs

Cultural News, May 2008

By Andy Matsuda

   Along with several representatives of the Japanese food circle in Los Angeles, I was invited to the first Japanese Restaurant International Forum on March 27 and 28 at the Hotel New Otani in Tokyo.

   The Organization to Promote Japanese Restaurants Abroad, or JRO, was formed in Tokyo in July 2007 with seed money from Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. The purpose of JRO is to help export Japanese food ingredients to the world due to the worldwide popularity of Japanese-style cooking.

   The March 27 and 28 gathering was attended by about 600 people mainly from the food industry in Japan and delegations from London, Taipei, Bangkok, and Los Angeles.

    Among the international speakers at the forum, Caroline Bennett of London spoke about her first kaiten sushi bar (the style of serving sushi plates on a rotating belt) in the United Kingdom. Bennett said that her restaurant Moshi Moshi is open not just to sell sushi but also to represent contemporary Japan. She has recently been involved in a “Responsible Fish Restaurant” project to open a direct distribution channel from small scale local fishermen to restaurants in the cities.

    Another distinguished speaker in the forum was David Bouley from New York City. He is known not only as a French chef but also as the restaurateur who created simple tent seating at Ground Zero and provided meals to rescue workers for 24 hours for four weeks in the 9/11 tragedy of 2001. In his French restaurant “Bouley” in New York City, he serves a sauce with white miso and an appetizer with uni (sea urchin). At the forum, he unveiled his plans to open a Japanese restaurant in New York City.

    The Tokyo forum was a very good opportunity for me to meet many important people in person such as Yuzaburo Mogi, chairman and CEO of the world’s largest soy sauce manufacturer Kikkoman Corporation. Mr. Mogi serves as the chairman of the Board of Directors for JRO.

    Andy Matsuda is the founder and the chief instructor of Sushi Chef Institute in Los Angeles. For information about the school, visit www.sushischool.net.

  (This text was completed by Shige Higashi)