With more than 1,700 hours of practical training in two years, Tokyo Yamanote Cooking & Confectionary College boasts one of the highest amounts of practical training in Japan. Students are trained by instructors with over 20 years of on-the-job experience, including overseas experience and restaurant ownership, to train chefs of the future. They also offer a wide range of club activities, in which more than 80% of students participate. At the Tokyo Tokyo Delicious Museum 2023, members of the Sushi Research Club, Pasta Research Club, and Bizen China Research Club showed off their skills. Today, we spoke with Mr. Akimoto, the school's PR manager, Mr. Kataoka, an instructor, and a student from the Sushi Research Club.
What are your thoughts on participating in the event as a student?
Student: Customers who usually come to the restaurant at our school are people who know us well, so it was a very refreshing feeling to have customers who do not know our school enjoy our food!
Some of the customers even came back after finishing their meal and praised the food, saying, "It looks so hearty, but it's so healthy!" It was really nice for them to actually talk to us, and it was good because it was an open kitchen so we were able to communicate with them directly. I think it was a new sensation for the customers because they don't often have a chance to see how their food is prepared, and personally, I was very happy to see the reaction of the customers when we making omelettes. It was truly a great learning experience for us!
We also received a lot of praise for the presentation of our "takikomi rice (Japanese mixed rice) and tsumire (minced fish) hamburger steak using unused fish from Tokyo Bay and Sagami Bay".
Student: We were very particular about the presentation of the food so that when they would be delighted when they opened the lid of the bento box. Shiso leaves are used to add a green accent to the takikomi rice, which is a dish that tends to look very plain. We also made sure that the vegetables accompanying the tsumire hamburger steaks also had a colorful and spectacular atmosphere.
How did you come up with the idea of using unused fish for the menu on the first day?
Kataoka: It started when I asked a fish store that works with our school if there were any unused fish that we could use. We wanted students to learn that even fish that are discarded because they are out of standard or not well known by name can be delicious when cooked properly. The students were overjoyed to see that high-end fish such as fat greenling, which they normally don't have the opportunity to clean and prepare, were included in the menu.
Wasn't it difficult to develop the menu because you didn't know what kind of fish you would be receiving?
Kataoka: That's right. Unused fish come in a wide variety of types, sizes, and flavors, and that is why they do not look appealing when grilled. First, we asked students to come up with ideas and decided to utilize the fish with white flesh for takikomi rice and the fish with red flesh for the tsumire hamburger steaks.
Student: Usually, I can come up with an idea for a certain dish for a certain fish, but this time, it was quite a struggle. When we saw the fish that had arrived, it was a series of surprises, like "I didn't know there were fish like this!" It was an experience I was able to have because I was a member of the club, and it was definitely good practice for cleaning and preparing fish.
What were some of the things you paid special attention to in this environment that was different from the usual?
Kataoka: One of the things we paid particular attention to was thorough hygienic management. We always wore gloves and used chopsticks instead of our hands to arrange the food in order to make it look beautiful. Because we were working in an open kitchen, we instructed the students to stand in a position where they could see the customers as much as possible, and not to turn their backs to them. My impression was that there was a tense atmosphere in the kitchen due to the stress of being watched.
Was there anything you were able to apply from what you learned in school or anything different from what you expected?
Student: I didn't want the customers to get bored while waiting for their food, so I talked with them while making the omelettes. We usually have a restaurant management training once a month at school, and even though we talk to customers after the training, it was a new experience for me to talk to them while cooking.
Since the cooking space was different from what I was used to at school, I was conscious of communicating well with other students so that we could serve the food smoothly and avoid bumping into each other.
Kataoka: We instructed our students to think about the line of flow in cooking from their daily training, and I think they were able to move smoothly even in a limited space. As mentioned, it was also good that the students were able to communicate with each other by talking to each other as needed. Our training rooms are quite spacious, but that is not always the case when you actually work in the field. There are a surprisingly large number of cramped kitchens, so this should have been a good experience that can be applied in the future.
I'd like to stray from the topic of the event for a moment and ask a question about the school's policy, but could you tell us about the features of Yamanote Cooking & Confectionary College's curriculum and its educational policy?
Akimoto: The school's parent company is a Japanese restaurant that was founded in 1950, and our first culinary school was established in Osaka about 40 years ago based on the philosophy of "training chefs who can be immediately effective in the field". This philosophy has been passed down to the present, and we thoroughly implement "daily practical training" in order to help students develop overwhelming technical skills. The number of hours of practical training required to obtain a chef's license is 390 hours, but the school offers 1,708 hours of practical training over two years, which is 4.3 times more than stipulated.
The school also has five training rooms and seven restaurants equipped with state-of-the-art kitchen facilities so that students can learn while imagining what it is like to be a professional chef. We also place great importance on honing our on-site work and management skills through the provision of services to regular customers in a sophisticated environment.
The concept of "Tokyo as the center of Japan and the center of food culture" was the starting point for the school's expansion into Tokyo, according to the first chairman of the board of trustees. We are grateful to be able to participate in such a wonderful event in such an amazing city of food.
Finally, please share your thoughts on your enthusiasm for creating the future of food in Tokyo.
Student: With the dawn of the COVID-19 pandemic, I believe that more and more foreigners will visit Tokyo in the future. My goal is to create dishes that will make people say, "Japanese food is delicious!" In class, we are also learning about the concepts of halal and other foods related to religion. I would like to study hard, understand these different concepts in our own minds, and create delicious food that will bring smiles to the faces of people from all walks of life, from small children to the elderly!