March 2011, Vol. 21 No. 148 $5.00 Ramen Front Line in the U.S. Part 2 The key player behind the popularity of ramen ラーメン人気を支える影の立役者 Wa Sweets “Sweet Desserts Bring Sweet Business” 和菓子がもたらすおいしいビジネスチャンス PRSRT STD U.S. Postage PAID Los Angeles, CA Permit No. 32641 The Magazine for Food Professionals YUZU PEPPE R S A U CE Al l Nat ural MIYAKO ORIENTAL FOODS INC. customerservice @ coldmountainmiso.com Tel. 626-962 9633 アメリカ の ラーメン最前線 パート2
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
March 2011, Vol. 21 No. 148 $5.00
Ramen Front Line in the U.S. Part 2
The key player behind the popularity of ramenラーメン人気を支える影の立役者Wa Sweets “Sweet Desserts Bring Sweet Business” 和菓子がもたらすおいしいビジネスチャンス
JAPANESE RESTAURANT NEWSMay • Vol. 20, No.138|2||2|
JAPANESE RESTAURANT NEWS |3|May 2010 • Vol. 20, No.138
4 JAPANESE RESTAURANT NEWS
SPECIAL REPORT 6 Ramen Front Line in the U.S. アメリカのラーメン最前線 7 The Ramen Craze emerging worldwide 今世界でラーメンブームが始まっている 8 The key player behind the popularity of ramen ラーメン人気を支える影の立役者 10 The ramen boom gaining momentum worldwide The lastest on the evolution and appeal of ramen in the U.S. 世界に広がるラーメンブーム/その魅力とアメリカで進化するラーメン事情 12 Serving originality with each serving of ramen "prepared from the soul," Orenchi Ramen in Santa Clara, CA draws lines of customers: 行列ができる店:“一麺入魂”とオリジナリティー
SAKE SOMMELIER CLUB 14 Sake Sommelier Club 15 Sake Nation 41 “The popularity of Cup Sake” 酒豪大陸41「カップ酒のブーム」 16 The disruption of the Sho Chu Market 混乱する焼酎市場
NEWS / TRENDS 18 Wa Sweets “Sweet Desserts Bring Sweet Business” 和菓子がもたらすおいしいビジネスチャンス20 Winter Fancy Food Show 2011 毎年恒例のWinterFancyFoodShowがSFで開催
CASE STUDY 22 Difference between NY and LA: Part I NYとLAは違う国~その1~
OTHER CULINARY PROFESSIONALS 24 To impress New Yorkers with home-cooked Japanese food “Ichibantei” opens with particular attention to taste, quality and price! 日本の家庭の味、ソウルフードでニューヨーカーを唸らせる 味・質・価格にこだわった『一番亭』が登場
JAPANESE FOOD HISTORY 26 Chapter 55 The Market will not follow a trend far ahead of its time 第55章 先を行きすぎると市場はついてこない
FOOD HANDLER CERTIFICATE CLASS 29 To provide the safest food products possible 安全な食品を提供するために
30 David Kudo’s “THANKS-YOU” DIARY / EDITOR’S NOTE / CLASSIFIEDS
All Japan News, Inc.244 S. San Pedro St., Suite 202
Los Angeles, CA 90012Tel: (213) 680-0011 Fax: (213) 680-0024
udon, soba, and ramen. Therefore, our magazine is plan-ning a special issue on noodle shops with the main focus on ramen. In this special issue, we’d like to report on the history of noodle production, followed by sales, costs, and the process of opening a ramen shop. We hope our issue will prove helpful to professionals already in the ramen industry, and also helpful to professionals who hope to operate restau-rants that serves two different types of cuisines from day to night. This issue was made possible by the following sponsors.
Atsushi AshizawaRestaurant Consultant Contributed to the opening of the first ramen shop in the U.S. in Los Angeles in 1970.Since then, he’s helped open restaurants nationwide. Participated as a director in Chiba Lotte Marines Spring Camp 1995. Held the first training session for Japanese cuisine in Russia at Saint Petersburg in 2003. Awarded a certificate from the city of Saint Petersburg.
W orld Ramen Association published an announcement by
Japanese major food manufacturers in 2002 that the top ten countries with the highest demand for ramen is as follows: 1. China, 2. Indonesia, 3. Japan, 4. Korea, 5. U.S., 6. Philippines, 7. Thailand, 8. Russia, 9. Brazil. Of the approximately 50 billion meals consumed annually, China dominates 19.1 billion meals consumed, an astronomical portion. There is no doubt ramen is a national food in China. In comparison to the popularity of fusion sushi (California Rolls) that origi-nated in the U.S. and became widespread worldwide, ramen originated in Japan and becoming widespread in foreign cities. The first ramen shop from Japan to open in a foreign country is Sapporo Ramen in the Little Tokyo district of Los Angeles in 1971. The exchange rate at the time was 360 Japanese yen for 1 U.S. dollar, approx-imately 40 years ago. Those were the good times. At the time, Japan had an enthu-siastic appetite for anything American, and anything that was popular in the U.S. became accepted in Japan. Entertainment, fashion, fast foods led by McDonald’s, etc. expanded into the Japanese market. In the west coast, the grand opening of Sapporo Ramen was packed with customers, a huge success. The menu at the time offered Soy sauce, miso, and shio flavor (salt). Also on the menu was miso butter and teppan okonomiyaki. Their kitchen performance visible from both the counter seats and tables was no doubt a hit with Japanese American and local American diners. Prices were set around the soy sauce flavor at approximately $1.50. Three years later, Japan’s largest ramen chain “Dosanko” opened a branch in New York. Dosanko’s Sapporo ramen was an innovative dish, a far cry from the traditional Chinese noodle soup. This shop’s specialty was a soup base flavored with red miso paste with an abundant
portion of stir-fried soy bean sprouts and ground beef on top. Apparently, New Yorkers were said to be shocked by this version of Sapporo Ramen. After their debut in the east coast, “Dosanko” expanded into a restau-rant-chain with three or four locations. However, the ramen market in the U.S. encountered a challenge with the estab-lishment of major Japanese American super markets. Japanese American communities were forming in California and Hawaii, where distribution and local production of ingredients for ramen were advancing. With stores opened in suburban cities by Mitsuwa, Marukai, and Nijiya, ramen shops increased in numbers with Japanese populations in the area increasing. This is apparently how trends are started. At one point, ramen shops were told that there was no potential for them to establish a business during dinner hours. How about it now? There are ramen izakayas, ramen karaoke boxes, ramen combinations with California Rolls, small ramen bowls, ramen for children, and various forms of stable management of ramen shops. Last October, I started teaching a ramen cooking class. My first class consisted of Brazilian-Japanese students, and had an opportunity to teach my second class to an owner of a sushi bistro in Vancouver. Apparently, the ramen boom is expanding to Brazil and Canada also. Especially in Vancouver, a popular ramen shop named Kintaro apparently rivals or surpasses Daikokuya in Little Tokyo. I personally wish to contribute what little I can to the expansion of ramen shops. In the near future, I wish to become involved with efforts to promote ramen in Mexico, Russia, and other countries I was once involved with for training classes in Japanese cuisine. It won’t be far before we hear Americans say, “We want to enjoy quality ramen.”
8 JAPANESE RESTAURANT NEWS
The key player behind the popularity of ramen rapidly expands the market with their specialty raw noodles
Vice President / General Manager 副社長/ジェネラルマネージャー
Keisuke Sawakawa 澤川啓介氏
Sun Noodle California LLC
ラーメン人気を支える影の立役者こだわりの生麺で市場急拡
A specialty noodle manufacturing company offers approximately 120 selections of fresh raw noodles
Sun Noodle California, LLC. is a commercial noodle manufacturing company founded in Honolulu, Hawaii approximately 30 years ago. The Los Angeles factory was founded in 2004, Sun Noodle distributes to client restaurants across the U.S. and Canada. General noodles for ramen, yakisoba, soba, udon, and saimin (Hawaiian noodles) is manufactured in Hawaii, while the Los Angeles factory special-izes in ramen noodles with emphasis on raw noodles. Special efforts are placed on customized noodles for ramen specialty stores ordering custom noodles according to customer demand. Noodles are made from carefully
selected flour with attention to the thick-ness of the noodles, texture, and taste. Samples are kneaded repeatedly until the perfect noodle is made that best matches the soup. We currently produce approxi-mately 120 selections of noodles, and we continue to produce new selections as requested by our clients.
The North American market is expanding with the growing popularity of ramenStriving for further popularization
These past fiver years, we’re surprised by the rapid popularization of ramen in North America. We speculate one big reason for the growing popularity is due to the growing popularity of B-grade gourmet Japanese foods like ramen and yakitori in metropolitan cities like New
DATABusiness Name(商号): Sun NoodleEstablishment(設立): July 10, 1981President: Hidehito Uki 夘木栄人H & U, Inc. (Main Honolulu Factory)1933 Colburn St., Honolulu, HI 96819
Sun Noodle California LLC Los Angeles Factory 1505 W. Mahalo Pl.Rancho Dominguez, CA 90220
Employees(従業員数): 55
Business Description(事業内容): Raw ramen, yakisoba, udon, Okinawa soba, saimin, Japanese soba, wakana soba, gyoza, wantan skin, commission manufacturing of noodles for airlines, import and wholesale of various soups for noodles. 生ラーメン、焼きそば、うどん、沖縄そば、サイミン、日本そば、若菜そば、餃子、ワンタン皮、機内食用麺委託製造および各種麺類スープの輸入卸売り
Keisuke SawakawaBorn in Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan. After graduating from college, Sawakawa was stationed in Hawaii for a real estate development company in 1984. Was employed by Sun Noodles, LLC in 1994 and stationed in Los Angeles upon the opening of the Los Angeles factory, Sun Noodle California LLC. A renown noodle connoisseur, Sawakawa is also an athlete and enjoys softball and basketball with friends on weekends and days off. His hobby is camping and fly fishing.
York. Also, the popularity of ramen in medium-size cities like Boston, Portland, Seattle and Las Vegas is growing. Until recently, ramen was only an item on menus in Japanese restaurants. However, many people want to open ramen specialty shops. Also, orders from Chinese and Korean American owners are definitely growing. Retail sales were mainly through Japanese American markets until recently. Today, we receive requests from Chinese, Korean and U.S. supermarkets as well. Also, we are currently planning private brands that cater to markets specializing in organic food products and antici-pate gradual expansion into mainstream markets in various forms. In terms of expansion, the key is to expand distribution. Currently, we deliver our raw noodles frozen. We ship out our
noodles to other states in refrigerated trucks and deliver to our clients through local wholesalers. In the U.S., where distribution network for frozen food products aren’t as established compared to Japan, we struggle with delivery to small cities. However, we’re hearing that online shopping website “Amazon.com” will soon start delivery of food products at low temperatures, so I’m expecting to see changes soon.
Top projects for 2011Construction of a factory in East Coast
We’re currently planning to build a new factory in the east coast. We have high demand in Northeastern United States such as New York and New Jersey. Because raw noodles are perishable food
products, we must produce our products in areas closest to our consumers to deliver the freshest products possible. In the future, I expect to have more flexibility in offering organic and health-promoting food products according to market demands. But first, to best promote our products, I’d like to offer quality, tasty noodles reasonably priced for everyone to enjoy. We not only produce noodles and develop technology, we also have booths at restaurant shows and events nationwide and in Overseas. We produce ramen from local food products and have consumers sample them as our first step. While it may take time to get consumers to have it regularly, rather than focusing on profits, I’d like to stay focused on efforts to promote Japanese culinary traditions such as noodle dishes.
Half a century passed since the introduction of “chicken
ramen,” or instant ramen noodles by Momofuku Ando, considered one of the most notable inventions of the 20th Century. Thanks to this naming, the term ‘ramen’ became an official part of the Japanese language. This year is the fortieth anniversary of the introduction of “Cup Noodles” popular in the U.S. today. Ramen once synonymous with the term “cup noodle” the U.S. market is witnessing changes since. Within the past four to five years, many various ramen shops are opening in major cities with growing popularity of ramen. “Ramen” in Japan is generally known as the kind you eat with soup in restaurants. The great news for consumers is that the more ramen shops increase in numbers, the greater the quality and variation offered. On the other hand, owners are working to offer ramen that best suits their local region. The ramen
The ramen boomThe lastest on the evolution and appeal of ramen in the U.S.
その魅力とアメリカで進化するラーメン事情 MomofukuAndo
boom is led by the U.S. and expanding worldwide. Let’s inspect the ramen boom evolving in the U.S.
Japan, the “ramen nation”
Japan is a nation of noodle-lovers. The three most popular noodle dishes in Japan are udon, soba, and ramen, of which ramen offers the most variety and depth in preparation. For proof for the popularity of ramen in Japan, approximately 80,000 ramen shops are in business in Japan with total annual sales of approximately 800 billion Yen (approximately $6 billion dollars), a gigantic restaurant industry in Japan.
Ramen Front Line in the U.S.
March 2011 • Vol. 21 • No.148 11
The number grows even greater with the additional market for “instant ramen.” Approximately 5.5 billion servings are consumed annually (according to 2009 survey by the Japan Convenience Foods Industry Association, figures represent only information accredited by JAS). In Japan, it is said that approximately 1000~2000 brands of instant ramen is sold in the domestically, but the exact figures are unknown. While will elabo-rate more on instant noodles later in this series, in this report, we’d like to focus on ramen shops.
In one word, the appeal of ramen is due to the variety of flavors and combi-nations of ingredients offered with room for endless possibilities. Ramen is a dish that offers “endless fun” that diners will never tire of. In other words, there are no rules for preparing ramen with flavors determined by the preparer’s preferences. Therefore, it’s only natural to want to try different ramen at each shop. In Japan, ramen is considered a casual and conve-nient “national dish” enjoyed by diners of all age groups.
The history of Ramen
Ramen refers to a noodle dish enjoyed with soup, introduced to Japan from China through the Chinese district of Yokohama city in Japan around 1872. In the Meiji Period (1868 – 1912), shops opened in the Chinese district of Yokohama city, where the dish was referred to as “Nankin soba” or “Shiru soba.” In the beginning of the Showa era, ramen was referred to as “Shina Soba” (Shina is a name of a city in China). The dish became popular through food stalls and Chinese restaurants. The first ramen shop that opened in Japan is “Rairai Ken” in 1910. Ramen became popular as a national dish as seen today before or after World War II. It is said that many salvage collectors opened food stalls and ramen shops (“Shina soba”) after the war, but very few were
able to afford it. The late Momofuku Ando saw people starve to death after the war and wanted to improve their poor diet by offering low-cost food with a long shelf life that can be eaten immediately. After much research, he introduced the “chicken ramen,” the precursor to today’s cup noodles. Since then, the noodles became known as “ramen.” In the 1970’s, ramen evolved as Japan grew economically. Many ramen shops are opened as a food stall first before becoming a shop. Regional flavors (soup and distinctiveness of noodles) grew in variety with pursuers and ramen fans growing. In the 1980’s, ramen shops traditionally frequented by men started to become frequented by women and children, and ramen became a national food. This was also when ramen shops and franchise shops started to increase. The major hit film “Tanpopo” in 1985 was a human drama about a woman who grew as a ramen shop owner. This was when creating “secret soup recipes” became popular. The Shin Yokohama Ramen Museum (http://www.raumen.co.jp) opened in 1994.
In this museum with an ambiance reminiscent of the early Showa era, the food park complete with perma-nent installation of the local eight most popular ramen shops was a huge success. Following this success, many “food theme parks” such as this one is increasing nationwide. In 1998, “Oishinbo” and other “gourmet manga” about food and ramen books became a major hit. Since 2000, the internet and blogs contribute to the dissemination of infor-mation through general consumers, who study ramen and blog about their experi-ences tring ramen at different shops. The current ramen boom is further expanding worldwide with shops opened by non-Japanese owners and many ramen shops from Japan expanding worldwide.
ReferencesShin-Yokohama Ramen Museum 新横浜ラーメン博物館 http://www.raumen.co.jpJapan Convenience Foods Association日本即席食品工業協会Wikipedia Japan http://ja.wikipedia.orgNippon Ramen Association 日本ラーメン協会 http://www.ramen-kyokai.jp/
Special Thanks to:
Nippon Trends Food Service Inc., Chikara no Moto companyToyo Suisan Kaisha, Ltd., Nissin Foods (USA) Co., Inc.
The “South Bay” area from Silicon Valley to San Jose is home to many
Japanese expatriates employed by IT companies with a variety of Japanese restaurants. Recently, among talks about new ramen shops that never cease, we headed to “Orenchi Ramen” upon hearing good rumors about the ramen shop among local Japanese diners. At a convenient location right off the freeway, the run down shopping mall is quiet with very few restaurants open in
the area. However, near the back of the empty parking lot was a line of customers at only 6:00PM. Also, it’s quite unusual to see so many Japanese at a ramen shop in the Bay area. “Orenchi” opened in January 2010 is jointly operated by partners Kuniko Ozawa and chef Yoshiyuki Maruyama. Their second restaurant following the opening of their chicken specialty restau-rant “Sumika,” “Orenchi” was proposed by Maruyama as a ramen specialty store.
Ramen Front Line in the U.S.
March 2011 • Vol. 21 • No.148 13
1. Average Price for Lunch/Dinner per Person / ランチ・ディナーの客単価
$11 / lunch, $14 / dinner
2. Daily Sales / 一日売上平均N/A
3. Food Cost Percentage (%) フードコスト
32%
4. Alcoholic Beverage Sales Percentage (%)
売上に対するアルコール比率20%
5. Alcoholic Beverage Sales by Typeアルコール売上高 (種類別 )
Their soup, sauce and noodles are all original with a four-star rating online. Quickly spreading through word-of-mouth with approximately 300 meals served a day and approximately 500 meals served during weekends, the restaurant is a smashing success. Approximately 60% of the customers are Japanese, a testimony to their high quality of ramen served. The restaurant prepares five large pots of soup each day, which the restaurant finishing all of it daily. Hundred percent of the customers order ramen. “Sumika” is in their fifth year of operation. Their concept of serving chicken as “robata” and “hot pot” dishes were ahead of their times, and this time, they’re also leading the trends. They utilize their knowledge by using chicken in their new restaurant as well. When asked what led to their opening of their new restaurant, Maruyama replied, “I wanted to offer and enjoy quality ramen that I am satisfied with in the Bay area.” His recipe of a quality ramen was started and refined over time through much research and trial-and-errors. Maruyama trained for several months period at eight different ramen shops, kappou restaurants, and yakitori restau-rants where he passionately studied the techniques of Japanese food preparation and learned how to prepare “satisfying ramen.” He stated preparing ramen soup in the U.S. was difficult. “I experimented with the quality of local food ingredients to prepare my soup base. America is a large country, so distribution has proven difficult. We also reprocess our own chicken.” His soup base is pork flavor. Kurobuta and free range chicken is used for the pork bone broth, with extracts from both mixed with vegetable and seafood to create a mild but deep soup. The portion of soup stock used is different according to the selection of flavor. This ramen soup stock combined with the special “sauce” that creates the distinct flavor is not oily, but uniquely flavorful. “We place special emphasis on monitoring and sampling the soup since it’s an important process. If we get lazy about adjusting the temperature of the soup, the soup will taste different.”
Maruyama’s philosophy is to “draw out the flavor and not the odor.” The three types of flavors offered are Tonkotsu, Shoyu, and Shio (salt) (with special miso flavor offered only during the daytime). The noodles are prepared with original recipes with the thickness, quantity of water and texture adjusted to match the intensity of each soup to best compliment the flavors of the soup and noodles when consumed together. The noodles prepared from original recipes are ordered from noodle specialty stores. I ordered the popular “Orenchi Ramen” (Tonkotsu) flavor. The white soup has flavors of ginger, pot herbs and other ingredients mixed together into a deeply balanced soup. The soup capitalizes on the flavors rather than the oil from the pork. Tonkotsu flavor is served with thick, straight noodles for texture. Shio and soy sauce flavor is light in soup flavor, so they’re served with medium straight noodles. The boiled seasoned egg for topping is “half-boiled” into a rich orange color. It’s rare to see such creamy, orange egg served in the U.S. When I inquired, I was told the eggs are specially ordered. The soft and juicy char siu is home-made, thinly sliced and easy to eat. While the chuck is generally used for char siu, “Orenchi” uses pork back ribs. Also, soft boiled seasoned cloud ear mushrooms and bamboo shoots, sesami seeds and green onions are used for topping. A variety of toppings are offered. Besides ramen, popular appetizers include karaage, ordered by approxi-mately 80% of the customers. At night, beers and ramen are high in orders. Most of the customers consist of Caucasian IT company employees in the daytime and Asians at night. Due to the location, the restaurant closes fairly early in the evenings. Due to the success of this restaurant, the owners are excited about their future. Upon observation of their bustling restau-rant and employees, there seems to be a rule to their success. Timing and passion are two key ingredients that opens the next door to future success.
While several Japanese sake tasting events are held annually in recent years, there are only five to ten professional sake sommeliers in the U.S., and consumer knowledge about Japanese sake is gradually increasing.
The goal of this report is to contribute to expanding the U.S. market by providing information about Japanese sake to professionals affiliated with the sake industry, sommeliers and Japanese restaurant industry professionals (approximately 80% of the owners are Asian). We introduce the pairing of Daiginjo, Ginjo, Junmai, Honjozo sake with seasonal dishes specifically enjoyed in spring, summer, fall and winter. We cover the deep flavors of Japanese sake, their compatibility with various dishes, and over ten various flavors of sake enjoyed from hot to cold, depending on the temperature range. This column from the Sake Sommelier Club was made possible due to our spon-sors listed above.
Kosuke KujiNanbu Bijin Inc. Fifth Generation Brewery Owner
Hiroyuki Enomoto Honorary Sake Sommelier
President, JFC International
Noritoshi Kanai Honorary Sake Sommelier
President, Mutual Trading Company Inc.
David Kudo Honorary Sake Sommelier.
President, All Japan News.
Yuji Matsumoto Master Sake Sommelier
Kabuki Restaurant, Beverage Manager
Toshio Ueno Master Sake Sommelier
Vice President,Sake School of America
Joe Mizuno Head of the
“Regional Sake Tasting Club”
Chizuko Niikawa-Helton Sake Sommelier
Rick Smith &
Hiroko Furukawa Honorary Sake Sommelier.
Owner “SAKAYA NYC”,
Keita Akaboshi Manager & Sommelier,
Sake Bar “Kirakuya”
Toshiyuki Koizumi Sake Sommelier, Owner “WASAN”
Yoshihide MurakamiManager,
Smart Assist LLC
Kats Miyazato Sake Specialist
Owner of M&M Enterprise
March 2011 • Vol. 21 • No.148 15
Kosuke KujiFifth Generation Brewery Owner / Nanbu Bijin, Inc.
Born May 11, 1972. Entered Tokyo University of Agricul-ture’s Department of Brewing and Fermentation. In 2005 became the youngest person ever to receive the Iwate Pre-fecture Young Distinguished Technician Award. In 2006 was selected to be a member of the board of trustees of his local alma mater, Fukuoka High School. Currently is fea-tured in a number of media outlets including magazines, radio, and television. *Positions of Public Service: Chairperson, Cassiopeia Corporation Youth Conference; School Board Member, Fukuoka High School, Iwate Prefecture, Vice-Chairman, Technology Committee, Iwate Prefecture Brewers and Dis-tillers’ Association
The popularity of Cup Sakeカップ酒のブーム
SAKE SOMMELIER CLUB
SAKE NATIONby Kosuke Kuji
41酒豪大陸
In Japan, popularity is growing for cup sake.
“Cup sake? Sounds like a drink for older men,” some of you may think. However, due to changes in design and content, traditional cup sake is now enjoyed by young female consumers. The latest boom of cup sake started approximately two years ago, gradually expanding into chic bars and wine bars in Tokyo. Some bars carry up to ten or twenty different brands of cup sake. One such bar that pioneers the serving of cup sake is “Buchi,” mainly servicing wine and champagne. Their proactive incorporation of cup sake was covered by the media, followed by many bars following their lead. There is no point in carrying only one brand of cup sake. Instead, a wide selection of various brands in the refrig-erator creates anticipation and excitement for consumers. “Ajinomachidaya” is a regional sake specialty store in the Nakano district of Tokyo, also leading the latest cup sake boom. “Ajinomachidaya,” a brewery and
I held discussions and agreed initially to introduce selections of cup sake that is “above average” in quality, such as Junmai and Tokubetsu Junmai. Traditional cup sake packaged cheap “regular sake” to be enjoyed conveniently at reasonable prices. This traditional image of cup sake is why some people imagine cup sake to be “a drink for older men.” We tried to change this stereotype by upgrading the flavors to premium sake. Also, “Ajinomachidaya” agreed to standardize prices for cup sake of similar grade at the retail price of approximately 400 ~ 600 Yen, complete with individual designs for each brewery. Cup sake is packaged like “toys” with safe, quality Junmai and Junmai Ginjo sake. The sales pitch offers, “Why not find the design you like?” and became a hit. Breweries competed against each other in their packaging design, with some opting for traditional cup designs, while others chose innovative designs. To appeal to young female consumers who may find sake to be too strong, breweries
Finalist of the 2nd World Sake Sommelier Competition. Graduated from Keio University Fac-ulty of Law, Department of Political Science. Worked for Nomura Securities for 10 years. Former president of California Sushi Academy Former chief of planning dept. at Mutual Trading. Currently working for Kabuki Restaurant Corp. as a Beverage Manager of Sake.
SAKE SOMMELIER CLUB
SAKE SOMMELIERby Yuji Matsumoto酒ソムリエ
While sake is renown as an alcoholic beverage unique to Japan, there is
very little recognition of shochu among American consumers. Because there is little information on the difference between the Korean Soju and tradi-tional Japanese shochu, consumers are confused. This is a unique case partic-ular to California, but despite shochu being a distilled spirit, if imported with alcohol level below 24%, then restaurants with Beer & Wine licenses can sell them as “Soju” as long as they’re imported and registered accordingly. Because over 90% of Japanese restaurants in California only hold Beer & Wine licenses, the term “Soju” must be used over “Shochu.” Depending on the manufacturers, some register two different labels for the same brand: the term “Soju” is used for alcohol level of 24%, while alcohol level of 25% and above is referred to as “Shochu.” The root of all confusion is this law. While the vendor wants to sell as Shochu, the market becomes so limited by the naming that vendors are forced to sell them as “Soju” instead. Since the label reads “Soju,” there’s no point in trying to explain that “Japanese Shochu is different from Soju,” since most American consumers don’t read Japanese and won’t understand the
difference. I’m also troubled about how to train my employees. The root of all confusion is this law. While the vendor wants to sell as Shochu, the market becomes so limited by the naming that vendors are forced to sell them as “Soju” instead. Since the label reads “Soju,” there’s no point in trying to explain that “Japanese Shochu is different from Soju,” since most American consumers don’t read Japanese and won’t understand the difference. I’m also troubled about how to train my employees. While the Japanese are well aware of the obvious difference between the Korean Soju and traditional Japanese shochu by the name, it’s still a notable problem that American consumers who hold the key to expansion into future markets don’t know this difference. Since it seems unlikely that this law will be revised anytime soon, the only option is to advocate the ingredients, processing methods and ways to enjoy shochu as Japanese Premium Soju. Also, for import and distribution companies, one sugges-tion would be to distinguish Shochu as Japanese Premium Soju, or to include the subtitle “Honkaku Soju.”
Using only the premium Californian rice, Hakutsuru
Organic Junmai Sake is carefully brewed with
sophisticated skills and techniques.
Ingredients, brewing process, aging process, and
bottling process are all USDA certified organic.
Sharp and exhilarating. Dry and light-bodied.
Enjoy this Sake in a wide range from cold to warm/hot,
and sweet/dry changes can be enjoyed depending
on the temperature.
ALC.14.5% BY VOL.
INGREDIENTS:ORGANIC RICE, RICE KOJI
SAKE METER VALUE : +5
オーガニック
NEWS/TREND
March 2011 • Vol. 21 • No.148 19
Las Vegas ・ San Diego ・ Honolulu ・ Tokyo ・ Shanghai日本の味を世界の人々に THE CHERRY CO., LTD. 共同貿易株式会社
20 JAPANESE RESTAURANT NEWS
INTERNATIONAL MARINE PRODUCTS, INC.
A F U L L S E RV I C E P R O V I D E R O F F O O D P R O D U C T S F R O M T H E W O R L D
LOS ANGELES500 East. 7th StreetLos Angeles, CA 90014tel: (213) 893-6123fax: (213) 680-0317email: [email protected]
LAS VEGAS1741 South Mojave RoadLas Vegas, NV 89104tel: (702) 431-8896fax: (702) 431-8897email: [email protected]
PHOENIX3801 East Roeser Road, Suite 10Phoenix, AZ 85040tel: (602) 470-9881fax: (602) 470-9957email: [email protected]
SAN FRANCISCO1650 Delta CourtHayward, CA 94544tel: (510) 429-4600fax: (510) 429-4601email: [email protected]
SALT LAKE CITY2655 South 1030 West, Unit ASalt Lake City, UT 84111tel: (801) 908-5953fax: (801) 908-0294email: [email protected]
JAPAN3F- Chuoreito Toyomi No. 3 Reizoko Offi ce Bldg.8-19 Toyomi-cho, Chuo-kuTokyo, Japan 104-0055
Comprehensive Consulting · Quality Management · Innovative Menu Creation
T he annual Winter Fancy Food Show was held for three days starting
January 16 in Moscone Center, San Francisco. Despite the ongoing reces-sion, many more exhibitors participated than last year with approximately 80,000 specialty food booths bustling from 300 corporate participants from 50 countries. Aside from major food manufacturers, smaller food manufacturers exhibiting their original food products, fine snacks and beverages were particularly impres-sionable. Korean food manufacturers offered seaweed products, miso, Asian snacks made from processed rice and Japanese confections, while American food manufacturers exhibited sushi kits for home cooking, ponzu, marinating sauces and other Asian condiments. “Lotus Foods” from Korea offers products made from polished and processed organic rice of various colors in brown, black, light green and various combinations of colors, a unique and high-end brand of rice. Tofu maker “Hodo Soy” based in Oakland, California is producing hits with processed tofu products like original tofu and Yuba snacks. Japanese manufacturers like “ITOEN” appealed to attendees with their “Tea’s tea,” packaged in newly designed bottles to emphasize their high quality tea. On the other hand, “Morinaga” offered samples of their main product,
Winter Fancy Food Show 2011: San FranciscoNEWS/TREND
“Hi-Chew” with intentions to expand into the U.S. candy market. “Sun Noodle” appealed to the crowd with hundreds of their raw noodles. Many attendees sampled their ramen. This year, “Sun Noodle” is looking to strengthen sales for noodles by average consumers. “GreeNoodle” selling instant noodles made from molokheiya increased their line of new products and stressed the “healthiness” of their products. Asian food booths of particular interest were Korean food manufactuer “Delice,” importing and selling Japanese “taiyaki” makers, and “Wa Import,” selling yuzu and cabos juice, yuzu jam, white soy sauce of high quality from Japan, sold by the owner, who devel-oped his own distribution route, as original brands. “Sushi Now” was selling powdered miso soup is sold in chic bottles with the catch phrase, “enjoy miso soup at your preferred quantity.” The globaliza-tion of Asian food products was evident.
Winter Fancy Food Show 2011: San Francisco JAPANESE RESTAURANT NEWS |15|May 2010 • Vol. 20, No.138
22 JAPANESE RESTAURANT NEWS
T here is no guarantee that restaurants popular in New York City will neces-
sarily be successful in Los Angeles, and vice versa. I personally had two disap-pointing experiences. First, I went to an Italian restaurant “Bice” of Manhattan that jointly opened in Beverly Hills, which unfortunately closed after only a few years of operation. I went to New York to inspect before negotiating a contract and felt it was a fine restaurant. The chef was a young graduate of a famous Italian cooking school. The food was presented beautifully and tasted wonderfully. The kitchen was the most cleanest of any I’ve seen. The interior was chic in design. While the waiters spoke fast in Italian accents, their customer service skills were excellent. The restau-rant was equipped with various selections of rare wines, and many of the clients were celebrities in the entertainment industry. The brand as a long-established restaurant from Milan was established. My lack of experience led me to believe that success was imminent as long as I
opened the restaurant in an expensive location. The restaurant opened in early December 1989 on North Canon Drive of Beverly Hills, an initial success with sales of approximately $1 Million after a little over a month. However, sales started to drop the following year, and continued to drop until it closed after only a few years in business. My second challenge was a New York steak house. The steak I tried at Park Avenue, New York was fabulous. The restaurant was so busy; it was diffi-cult to get a reservation. Once again, I opted for a joint venture of a restaurant in Beverly Hills. The owner of the steak house and staff members visited Los Angeles many times, and we made rounds of our competitors together. Each time, our competitor would comment, “You’ve beat us with this flavor.” However, the success of a restaurant isn’t determined by taste alone. The restaurant opened and enjoyed much buzz, but unfortunately sales suffered. I’m hearing that sales is climbing recently, so I wish them the best.
Difference between NY and LA : Part I NYとLAは違う国 ~その1~
CASE STUDY Akihiko EndoRestaurant Management Consultant
TM International, LLC.
Born in Yokohama in 1955. BA from Waseda University in 1979; MBA from Golden Gate University in 1985. Moved to the US in 1980.
After completing his MBA, worked at Golden Bell Communicationsand Ernst & Whinney in San Francisco. From 1988, has worked as an
executive at WDI International, Inc. in Los Angeles.
CASETUDYS
There is no guarantee that restaurants successful in New York will necessarily enjoy that same success in Los Angeles. Of course, the markets are different so it’s expected. When one experiences the success of a restaurant, it’s easy to fall into the misconception that the restaurant will be successful anywhere. In reality, it’s difficult for a restaurant to enjoy success in both coasts. Of course, few do enjoy such success: McDonald’s, Baba Gump, Outback Steak House, etc. These restau-rants were successful in overcoming the difference between east and west to build
success on commonalities. McDonald’s boasts a revolutionary restaurant system. Baba Gump offers an enjoyable dining experience to diners of all age groups. “Nobu” is representative of Japanese cuisine. Innovativeness based on Japanese cuisine was commonly appreci-ated in both east and west coasts. On the other hand, CKE are completely different in the east and west. The east is Hardees’s, while the west is Carl’s Jr. This is another way to cover the entire country of United States of America.
On a corner of the bustling East Village with many by passers is a
bright red sign with thick Chinese charac-ters. Drawn into the entrance, the inside is coordinated in bright red and yellow with hanging lanterns, a space with energy and impact. Similar in ambiance to a festive shop with calmness of a metro-politan city, “Ichibantei” just opened in December 2010.
Owner and chef Shinnosuke Araki said, “I want to provide home-cooked Japanese food, the Japanese soul food that makes diners sigh with relief.” Araki came to the U.S. approximately three and half years ago to help his brother with his restaurant that he operated at night. Araki soon felt “There isn’t very many Japanese restaurants offering simple home-cooked meals at reasonable prices,” which is why he decided to open his restaurant. Araki emphasizes four key points for operating his restaurant: “use of high quality ingredients,” “make each dish with great care,” “serve as soon as the dish is prepared,” and “offer each dish at reasonable prices.”
Currently, the eight most popular menu items are the “Karaage” ($8.00), “Chicken Nanban” ($10.00), “Hamburger Steak” ($12.00), “Minced Katsu” ($12.00), “Tonkatsu” ($12.00), “Yakiniku” ($15.00), “Tuna Steak” ($18.00), and “Ichibantei
Steak” ($20.00 for 7 ounces, $30.00 for 11 ounces). “Washu-Gyu” beef, Kurobuta pork, and organic chicken is selected to provide safe foods of the highest quality. All menu items come with a serving of Koshi-hikari rice. For the “Ichibantei Steak,” the Washu-Gyu is used, raised the same way as Kobe beef, so impressive in quality that one customer gasped, “Beef of this quality would cost $100 at other restaurants.”
Sauces served with Karaage, marinating sauce for Yakiniku, sweet vinegar sauce and tartar sauce for Chicken Nanban, the demiglace sauce for the hamburger meat and the Tonkatsu sauce used for the side of cabbage is each homemade with care. We tried the popular “Chicken Nanban” and “Yakiniku,” each marinated in sauce over one day and thus soft and abundant with flavor. Each goes great with rice and salad, difficult dishes to rest the chopsticks.
At this restaurant, customers order and pay first before receiving their orders, similar to fast-food restaurants. Yet, none of the foods are prepared before-hand, with each dish created after its ordered. This is due to the owner’s idea that “ food tastes best immediately after they’re prepared.” One side menu is the “Taiyaki” ($2.50) and “Takoyaki” ($5.00) prepared from equipment imported from
New YorkICHIBANTEI
To impress New Yorkers with home-cooked Japanese food“Ichibantei” opens with particular attention to taste, quality and price!日本の家庭の味、ソウルフードでニューヨーカーを唸らせる味・質・価格にこだわった『一番亭』が登場
Text : Aya Ota / Photo : Hazuki Aikawa
ChickenNanban$10 Yakiniku$15
Takoyaki$5
Taiyaki$2.50
401 East 13th Street, New York, NY 10009 Tel: 877-731-4339 Twitter:http://twitter.com/Ichibanteinyc Business Hours: 7 Days 11:30am-11:30pm
March 2011 • Vol. 21 • No.148 25
Japan, and even these items are usually not prepared beforehand with the excep-tion of busy evening hours. Of course, diners wait until their orders are prepared after ordering, and the fact that they can view their Taiyaki and Takoyaki being prepared by the chef behind the open kitchen provides realistic entertainment. One secret to their ability to prepare and provide high quality foods at reason-able prices is their limited menu items. The more menu items a restaurant offers, the more time is spent on prepa-rations beforehand and the more foods are wasted. By eliminating such costs and labor, the emphasis is placed on improved quality. It’s easy to believe Mr. Araki when he boasts, “Once a customer comes, he usually becomes a repeater, and the probability is 100%”
A space is planned to open on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant in spring, one reason why Araki chose this
location for his restaurant. Currently processing a liquor license, Araki plans to serve beer and Takoyaki under the blue sky starting spring, where diners and by-passers alike can look forward to a festive stand to emerge soon. With plans to eventually franchise his restaurant in the future, Araki wants to expand his business to include a take-out specialty store, a fine dining restaurant, a teppan-yaki restaurant, and various other types of restaurants.
“Ichibantei” is a restaurant where diners experience the owner’s emphasis on “taste, quality, and to be ‘number 1’ at everything we do.” A restaurant that provides unique new type of Japanese foods, Ichibantei is garnering attention with anticipation for a bright future.
Sake was not the only Japanese alcoholic beverage that became wide-
spread with the sushi boom. Japanese beer manufacturers expanded into the U.S. market around this time. The first manufacturer to succeed in the cross-over was Sapporo, towards the end of 1970s. Their popularity was largely due to the draft type beer packaged in bottles, known as “draft beer.” Also, the winter Olympics was held in Asia for the first time in 1972, which brought recognition of the Sapporo brand to U.S. consumers. One main reason Sapporo draft beer was first sold in sushi restaurants by Mutual Trading was due to their strong business relationship with sushi restaurants, whom they served as their distribution agent. Mutual Trading’s second President was Chuhei Ishii and the sales license was assumed by sake and alcoholic wholesale film Star Beverage, managed by his eldest son Robert Ishii. Thanks to Star Beverage’s long-term relationship with Sapporo, North
American share for beer was led by Sapporo, followed by Kirin, opposite of the market share in Japan. At this time, Kirin dominated 61% of the domestic beer share in Japan, while Sapporo held second place at 18%. However, Japanese beer in the U.S. was consumed mainly with sushi, repre-sentative of Japanese cuisine in Japanese restaurants. To expand sales share, the most quickest and effective strategy was to strengthen relationships with Japanese restaurants. Previously, Kirin partnered with non-Japanese American whole-salers to expand, but the results were not as promising. Discussions between Kirin and Mutual Trading Company to start a business relationship were initiated in the 1980s. There was no doubt Kanai was moved by the idea of distributing Kirin beer, by far the most popular beer in Japan, as their main product. Also, Sapporo was also being distributed by his rival company, JFC. Of course, Kanai did not wish to dissolve his relationship with
Sapporo, but the mores of the Japanese business climate at the time dictated as an unspoken rule that handling products of rivaling companies was unethical. Kanai decided to exclusively sell Kirin beer in the beginning of 1982. However, it became possible to maintain his business relationship with Sapporo, and by 1984, Kirin was the main beer while Mutual Trading also started to distribute Asahi Beer and Suntory Beer. One company, Mutual Trading, was able to import beers from various manufacturers, which was welcomed by Japanese restaurants. Also, by part-nering with Mutual Trading Company, Kirin increased sales in Japanese restau-rants and successfully demonstrated their reputable sales and marketing, gradu-ally shrinking the sales gap between Sapporo. Also, Kirin finally gained their long-awaited foothold into the Caucasian market. Since 1980, Mutual Trading manages a corner for Japanese cuisine in major supermarket Ralphs, representative
of Southern California. Kirin beer is included in this corner, which increased awareness of the brand. Eventually, Ralph’s purchasing department offered to add Mutual Trading’s beverages in their general alcoholic beverage section. Thanks to this offer, Kirin achieved a record sales of $1.2 million, and became competitive with Sapporo Beer by 1995. To escape a price hike in imported products due to the rising Yen, Kirin and Asahi formed partnerships and delegated to start local production in Canada. However, they struggled along-side competitive rivals like Budweiser and other popular brands from the U.S. market. By the time Suntory Beer left the market in early 1990, three Japanese beer manufacturers held only 0.25% of the U.S. beer market share. Despite forming tight alliances with Japanese restaurants, Japanese beer sales reflect the difficulty of distributing a product that isn’t originally Japanese.
The Market will not follow a trend far ahead of its time先を行きすぎると市場はついてこない
FOOD HISTORY Noritoshi Kanai
1923 Born in Tokyo.1949 Graduated Hitotsubashi University.1951 Accession to the President of Tokyo Mutual Trading Company, Inc.1964 Moved to United States with his family. Accession to the President of Mutual Trading Company Inc. in Los Angeles. Kanai’s Biography, “The Frontal Assault Concept” was published.
The “Food Handler Manager’s Class” hosted by the Japanese Restaurant Academy
marked their 130th class held in 13th years with approximately 5,000 certified profes-sionals to date. California health regulations maintain the highest standards nationwide and is getting more strict, requiring all restaurant and grocery professionals (excluding the certi-fied Food Handling Manager Class) to obtain Food Handler Certificates. The biggest reason is because food
handling classes for management class employees (for owners and managers) alone don’t result in thorough compliance overall. Also, approximately 76 million people a year suffer food poisoning in the U.S. today, of which 5000 cases result in death (according to CDC). The top five causes for food poisoning is: 63% food stored at incorrect temperatures, 29% food products prepared sooner than expected, 27% food temperature retained at incorrect temperatures, 26% insanitary or
infected employees, and 25% reheated food at incorrect temperatures. Other causes include contaminated food products and chemical agents, hazardous suppliers and various other reasons. (According to CDC reports, various causes contribute to figures over 100%) Current food handling classes consist of six hours of instruction followed by a test with 85 questions. A score of 75% and above is considered passing. Certificates are valid for five years (mainly for owners and managers). The new food handling classes consist of
over three hours of instruction followed by a test with 50 questions. A score of 75% or above is considered passing, and certificates are valid for three years (for all employees besides certi-fied owners and managers). For the implementation of this new law, we publish a sample document here for your reference not only for testing purposes, but also for everyday reference. We hope you find this helpful in your daily food handling practices.
(5) Cress-Contamination: Cross contam-ination occurs when microorganisms are transferred from one surface or food to another. A foodborne illness can result if cross contamination is allowed to occur in any of the following ways:*Contaminated ingredients are added to food that receives no further cooking.* Cooked or ready to eat food is allowed to touch food contact surfaces that have not been cleaned and sanitized.* Contamination food is allowed to touch or drip fluids onto coked or ready to eat food.* A foodhandler touches contaminated food and then touched cooked or ready to eat food.* Contaminated cleaning cloths are not cleaned and sanitized before being used on other food contact surfaces.(6) Time-Temperature Abuse: Food has been time temperature abused any time it has been allowed to remain too long at temperature favorable to the growth of foodborne microorganisms. A foodborne
illness can result if food is time tempera-ture abused in the following manner.* It is not held or stored at required temperatures.* It is not cooked or reheated to tempera-tures that kill microorganisms.* It is not cooled properly. (7) Poor Personal Hygiene : Individuals with poor personal hygiene can offend customers, contaminate food or food contact surfaces, and cause illnesses. A foodborne illness can result if employees. * Fail to wash their hands properly after using the restroom or whenever their hands become contaminated.* Cough or sneeze on food* Touch or scratch sores, cuts, or boils, and then touch food they are handling.* Come to work while sick.
Study Questions1. Why are elderly people at a higher risk for foodborne illness?
(1) They are more likely to spend time in a hospital.
(2) Their immune systems have weakened with age.(3) Their allergic reactions to chemi-cals used in food production might be greater than those of younger people.(4) They are likely to have smaller appetites.
2. Which food would most likely cause a foodborne illness?
3. Which is not a common characteristic of potentially hazardous food?
(1) They are moist.(2) They are dry.(3) They have a pH that is neutral or
slightly acidic.(4) They contain protein.
4. For a foodborne illness to be consid-ered an “outbreak” how many people must experience the same illness after eating the same food?
(1) 1(2) 2(3) 10(4) 20
5. Which item is a potentially hazardous food?
(1) Raw carrots(2) Dry rice(3) Bread(4) Raw bean sprouts
*For answers, please turn to p30
30 JAPANESE RESTAURANT NEWS
naturally with minimal resources without working against time, and co-existed with nature. Where are the currently mass-produced “objects” for mass-consumption headed to, I wonder? I felt the lives of Edo Period leave plenty of lessons for all of us to learn from. (Kawabata)
There are so many Japanese Tradi-tional dishes that are not too popular
or prevailing among the American population but are popular and tradi-tional common dishes among Japanese. I attended a very unique event which Japanese Classic movies and Japanese traditional dishes were combined and presented in different ways where I was able to realize how Japanese food culture will be in the near future in the US. Recently I have been starting to see that Japanese food ingredients are in menus without descriptions which is a good barometer to measure how popular some actual food may be. It will not be so far
Recently, terms like “ecology” and “recycle” are widely used. I once read
a book about recycling written in the Edo Period. During this period that lasted for 260 years, a recyclable society depended on the sun alone for energy, and peoples’ lives were aligned with and coexisted with nature as much as possible. When the clothes got worn, they were mended and made into another clothes. When they got even more worn, they were remade into rags and diapers, and finally used as fuel. Ashes from this and people’s feces were burned in the fields for fertilizer, thus recycled. Back then, the concept of throwing something away didn’t, and people thought long and hard about how best to recycle what they had for extended periods of time. At a time when there was no oil or electricity, these people lived
I n the U.S., there are approximately 14,000 Japanese restaurants in business and the number keeps
growing. Japanese cuisine first became popular in the U.S. through selections such as sushi, teriyaki, and sukiyaki. Today, popular items are expanded recently to udon, soba, and ramen. Therefore, our magazine is planning a special issue on noodle shops with the main focus on ramen. As a popular selection following sushi, we hope that ramen becomes another steadfast favorite in Northern America. Ramen shops don’t need to be fancy inside, so stores designs can be done relatively cheap. With noodle manufacturing and distribution companies available, the success of a ramen shop will depend largely on the owner’s ambition. The popularity of ramen in the U.S. started with Japanese consumers and quickly expanded mainly through Caucasian consumers within the past one or two years, followed by Asian consumers. As seen
previously with sushi restaurants, any ramen shop is sure to have customers upon opening. In this special issue, we’d like to report on the history of noodle production, followed by sales, costs, and the process of opening a ramen shop. We hope our issue will prove helpful to professionals already in the ramen industry, and also helpful to professionals who hope to operate restaurants that serves two different types of cuisines from day to night. When Japanese Restaurant Association of America conducted a survey ten years ago, many respondents indicated that their favorite Japanese food was sushi, yet they didn’t eat it more than once a month. However, in this year’s survey results, many respondents indicated eating sushi more than once a week. Also, ramen ranked second as the most popular Japanese dish. It’s exciting to imagine the possibility of approximately three hundred million Americans enjoying ramen once a week. Ten years from now, it’s possible to imagine approxi-mately 30,000 Japanese restaurants in business, of which a third will be ramen shops. Further coopera-tion among industry professionals will prove vital. Our magazine will also strive to provide more infor-mation than ever before. (Kudo)
away once people can hear and interpret the nouns of particular dishes or foods such as Daifuku, Ochazuke etc. which are called in Japanese without descrip-tions and doesn’t explain what they are. How about trying to notice this, from a different perspective when you visit a restaurant next time? (Azuma)
OCEAN GROUP, INC. Growing Together For over 25 years, Ocean Group, Inc. has been providing quality seafood and great service to Southen California restaurants.
1100 S. Santa Fe Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90021www.oceanfreshinc.com Email: [email protected]: (213) 622-3677 FAX: (213) 622-3437