Japan hosts Washoku chef's world championship

The Washoku World Championship was recently held in Tokyo. This was the 10th edition of the event, which aims to take Japanese cuisine to new heights.

A total of 139 chefs applied for the competition, of which 6 cleared the preliminary rounds and progressed towards the finals.

The "Washoku World Challenge" was organized with the support of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries of Japan in order to promote Japanese cuisine and take it to foreign countries.

"The chefs who are participating today understand Japanese cuisine. I think it is necessary to maintain and develop the appeal of Japanese cuisine while working hard with chefs from all over the world," said Takaaki Katsumata, State Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan.

The theme of this year's competition was "Dashi," which literally translates to broth. Dashi or broth is an important component to enhance the flavour of Japanese dishes.

For the final competition, contestants have prepared five serving appetizers that are to be cooked using traditional Japanese eight-inch plates.

The cooking time is 120 minutes.The judges examined the taste of Dashi along with the presentation of the dishes.

The winner is "Jakub Horak" from the Czech Republic. The appetizer he cooked was highly praised for its balance, time distribution for cooking, and the idea to use Czech ingredients.

"I'm really surprised I won this competition because I applied for the first time. So it's a surprise for me. And I'm pretty young for it, so I will do my best in the following years by touring, uh, Japanese culture and good food," said Jakub Horak, Chef from Czech Republic.

"I would like you to serve and introduce Japanese food to local people at the restaurant where you work every day. I hope many people will be interested in Japan and Japanese food. For example, it would be nice if many people would like to visit Japan inbound, buy some Japanese ingredients at a retail store and try to eat them at home, contributing to the development of Japanese cuisine," said Masashi Ito, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries of Japan.

After returning to their homelands, these chefs will introduce Washoku to their homelands, which will help spread the glory of Japanese cuisine.

( With inputs from ANI )