◆Episode-1
The “Katashima Overseas Training Program” started in 2010, and although it was temporarily suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is now in its 15th year!
I left Tajima early in the morning and flew from Osaka Airport to London Heathrow Airport via Haneda Airport.
“Huh?” I wonder what’s going on? First of all, the morning departure time is an hour and a half earlier than usual? The departure gate for international flights is now Terminal 2, the same as for domestic flights? When I exchanged money, I found that I had very little foreign currency (over 200 yen per pound) and most of all, the flight time from Tokyo to London was extremely long…all of this reflects the current world situation.
But since I’m going to Europe at this time of year, I want to accept everything, whether it’s the weak yen, high prices, or the unstable world situation, and go there to get some positive stimulation.
After enduring a long flight, we arrived safely at London Heathrow Airport. We took the Heathrow Express to Paddington Station in central London, checked into the hotel, and met up with Chef Chiba at the restaurant “DININGS.” (Chef Chiba also joined us at NOBU TOKYO for the Katashima employee training when he returned to Japan temporarily in May.) We would usually dine at Dinings, but this time, since the chef from Rivière was accompanying us, Chef Chiba and I had researched the current London market in advance and made a reservation at “KIMA,” a Greek restaurant that is currently a hot topic in London. We immediately headed to the restaurant.
Chef Chiba had previously lived in Greece, and he said that Greek cuisine, which is simple yet makes the most of the ingredients, has been well received in the health-conscious London market and is likely to continue to evolve in the future.
◆Episode-2
The main purpose of this trip to the UK is to promote themselves at Fortnum & Mason!
Katashima’s marmalade is made using traditional methods, but the originality of the ingredients, which incorporate Japanese elements, has led to it receiving the highest praise in the UK.
Fortnum & Mason is one of London’s three major department stores, and is also the entry point for the Dalemain Marmalade Awards, boasting the best selection of tea and marmalade in London!
We have won the most prestigious Dalemain Marmalade Awards in the UK for seven consecutive years, and this year we won our fourth GOLD award. The fact that our world-class Japanese marmalade, which combines Japanese ingredients with “Tentaki Yuzu” from our local Yabu city, has been highly praised in the UK, the home of marmalade, was a moment that shaped our big goal of “utilizing local resources to turn them into sweets and share them with the world.”
This visit to the UK made us want to continue working hard to turn the wonderful ingredients of our local region, “Tajima/Tamba,” into sweets and dishes and share them with the whole country and the world.
【The above photo shows the venue for the World Marmalade Awards held in Penrith in 2019.】
●Continued in Episode – 3, 4
