We recently featured the ‘Seven Samurai Chefs’ that won a once in a lifetime trip to uncover the secrets of Japanese cuisine. Now back we have a report on the trip from Chef Craig Floate, so over to Craig…We recently featured the ‘Seven Samurai Chefs’ that won a once in a lifetime trip to uncover the secrets of Japanese cuisine. Now back we have a report on the trip from Chef Craig Floate, so over to Craig…
‘I was so surprised when I found that I had won the competition set by the BHA and ANA for a trip of a lifetime to Japan for the ‘7samurai chefs tour 2016’.
We would be shown around by guides that were skilled in their field and their knowledge of Japan and the areas that we would be visiting. An all-expenses paid trip to this amazing country to live their culture, food, and lifestyle and get involved and let this influence our cooking going forward upon returning.
I was one of 7 lucky chefs who got chosen from sending an Asian influenced dish off to be judged by some amazing chef judges and influential food writers. With all of the chefs coming from London I was the only one not from London to be chosen to go on the trip. All the chefs coming from different backgrounds and working in different places.
After a welcome lunch at a fine dining restaurant we took a direct flight from London Heathrow to Tokyo. Just the mere 12 hour journey to contend with to get us to Japan and the time difference of 9 hours to contend with. We arrived in Tokyo and were greeted by our first tour guide and interpreter. 7 samurai chef tour signs held aloft as we came through the arrivals gate we were taken in some local taxis to our first hotel for our stay in Tokyo for a couple of days.
Our first taste of Japanese hospitality came when we arrived at our hotel and were treated to a chefs table with some amazing tempura cooking right in front of our eyes. Several types of local fish, vegetables and meat were cooked in front of us in the hot oil made with the tempura batter that gives that distinct crisp crunch when bitten into. The chef told us the best ways to get the best batter for tempura and cooking techniques.
The tuna auction at the world famous fish market in Tokyo certainly was a highlight. The locals bidding for prize catch tuna that has been caught and fetches a fair hefty price! Just the week before we arrived the world record was smashed for the most ever paid for a single tuna fish of over $1.5 million dollars.
General sightseeing around Tokyo took place to the grand palace, shrines, kitchen shops, local tofu restaurants and much more!
On from Tokyo we headed to Toba on the world famous bullet train! There was snow on the tracks when we boarded so it didn’t go as fast as it usually does but it certainly puts our trains in the UK to shame. Passing Mount Fuji on the way and taking in some breath taking sights as we headed out into the Japanese countryside. We were greeted in Toba and taken to a local restaurant that specialises in conger eel! A very nice taste and completely unexpected. We then toured round the Ise grand shrine, before heading off to find out how to make Bonito from a master.
He explained how the process from getting the fish, to dry out and smoke, to shaving took place and also explained the ways that bonito is used to make the dashi stock with Kombu. A great experience to see this being made first hand.
Our first meal in Toba was hosted by the mayor of Toba and vice president of the Ise region. An amazing 15 course meal presented beautifully by Chef Matsuka of the Toba View Hotel was beautiful. The sake kept flowing and everyone was certainly in high spirits. We ended our night with a dip in the hotels hot springs. We put our traditional kimonos and went into the springs completely naked as cloths were not allowed in the baths. It certainly was a fantastic way to finish off the night in an open air hot spring overlooking Toba bay.
We also visited the site of the ama divers, where the women of the town would traditionally dive for pearls in the open water without the aid of breathing apparatus or snorkels. In just a white sheet protecting them from the freezing water they dived up to 10 metres unaided. We then learned how to make nori seaweed from scratch. From the slicing of the seaweed to the pressing and drying out it certainly was a great process. The ama divers then cooked local fish for us, and other delights over the open coals right in front of us in the huts they usually use to warm up after their dives.
This was followed by an afternoon in the kitchen for a masterclass with chef and his team. We learned how to kill a live fish for sashimi! Learnt about knife skills and Japanese knives, and even made our own sashimi to eat for ourselves that night at dinner.
From Toba we headed to Osaka. Here we learnt about the production of soy from start to finish. We even made our own soy sauce which we bottled and bought home with us. We toured the Irie shrine which was made famous by the film geishas. We had some spare time in Osaka to see the castle and take in the culture and sample some of the amazing street food.
Our last night was an open chefs table BBQ in front of us. Such delights as local fish, vegetables, steak, fish heads everything you could imagine was cooked in front of us over the open coals again.
This is a brief overview of our amazing 7 days in Japan.
To get a more in depth insight of to what we did whilst on our tour please visit here
Our task upon arriving home to come up with a dish to go onto the inflight meal menu on ANA for their winter menu, a Japanese dish that we learnt from our skills whilst touring around and drawing from the influences we had taken part in.
Certainly a fantastic trip of a lifetime, and sad that we had to come home so quickly. A place that will always be remembered in my heart and the new skills I’ve learned put to good use in my future career. A massive thank you to BHA and Miki travel and ANA and everyone involved behind the scenes in making this trip happen.’
H&C News would like to thank Chef Craig Floate for his review of the Seven Samurai Chefs 2016 trip to Japan.