14 December 2011, Hattori Nutrition College
Every one of the 10 finalists produced impressive dishes in the Italian cooking contest – Gran Concorso di Cucina – held on 14 December at the Hattori Nutrition College in Tokyo, but there could be only one winner.
Daisuke Yamazaki, 35, a chef at an Italian restaurant in Tokyo’s Ginza district, carried the day with an appetizer and a pasta dish in authentic Venetian style and featuring ingredients from Venice. Yamazaki, who studied cooking for three months in Venice, said he had joined the competition mainly to test himself.
“The winner excelled in taste and style, and his creation was totally Italian,” said Tsukiko Hattori, chairman of the college, who was one of the eight judges.
The theme of the contest, organised by the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Japan (ICCJ), was “Italian Cooking: Tradition and Creativity”. Yamazaki’s first prize included a Turkish Airlines ticket to Naples and three nights at a four-star hotel in Sorrento.
Another of the judges, Elio Orsara, owner of Elio Locanda in Kojimachi, Tokyo, noted that during his 20 years in Japan he has seen a phenomenal rise in the standard of Italian cooking.
The runner-up was Ayako Sasaki, the only woman finalist, who particularly impressed with presentation and originality. Third place went to Yuji Goto.
“The average Italian restaurant in Tokyo is now [at] the same high standard as in Italy,” said Orsara, praising the dedication of Japanese chefs who stay in Italy for extended periods and then return to Japan to replicate precisely what they have learned in Italy.
Fellow judge Francesco Formiconi, president of the ICCJ, lauded the finalists (selected from about 30 who had submitted images and information about their dishes online) for both originality and creativity, and for not making adjustments to accommodate Japanese tastes.
Contestants, using the school’s gleaming workstations, had just an hour to prepare the compulsory appetizer and pasta. Pasta and basic ingredients such as olive oil, spices, canned tomatoes and vegetables for the base sauce were provided. The chefs were required to notify the organisers of the types and quantities of other raw ingredients that they provided themselves.
Despite the intensity with which the chefs worked, and the keenness of judging scrutiny, the general atmosphere was somewhat convivial. After the result was announced, officials and contestants shared a toast and offered congratulations all around for a job well done.
It has to be said that the chefs faced difficult decisions over the line between authenticity and creativity, and maintaining the balance between visual and gustatory appeal.
“Some of the dishes would be impractical in an actual restaurant situation,” said Formiconi, “but there are a couple of chefs among the contestants that I would interview for my restaurant.” This is not just any restaurant, by the way, but Tokyo’s world-class Armani Ginza Tower Ristorante in the Ginza.
The Gran Concorso di Cucina was well covered by the local media. As a spectacle, however, it certainly deserves a larger gallery.