Table of Contents
1. Your Concerns
2. Features of this cooking class
3. The messages from the guests of my cooking class
1. Your Concerns
Do you have any of the following concerns?
- Japanese people mainly cook food in a chaji, Hatsugama, but I (Americans) also would like to cook some of them.
- I don’t know how to make Japanese food, but I would like to make chakaiseki that Americans can make.
- I would like to learn traditional chakaiseki, but I can’t find a class in English.
When I lived in the U.S., the Japanese were the main people who prepared the food in chaji or Hatsugama. It might be efficient that the Japanese made the food. However, if the Americans could make it, the Americans would also feel that they were included and satisfied. If the Japanese and the Americans cooked together in the kitchen, they could have a nice time and might even create a novel menu from both cooking cultures.
Do you usually cook at home? Have you ever cooked Japanese food? Have you ever cooked chakaiseki? Chakaiseki is the ultimate Japanese cuisine. It requires careful preparation and presentation. When I lived in the United States, I got interested in chakaiseki. I wanted to make it, but it wasn’t easy to study on my own because it was different from everyday Japanese cooking. I think it would be more difficult if you were an American.
Are you looking for the books and recipes for chakaiseki written by the Japanese? I think there are not enough. When I lived in the U.S., I wanted to know about traditional American cuisine and searched for them in Japanese, but most of the recipes written in Japanese were not traditional, and I couldn’t find the recipes I wanted. Therefore, I finally looked for the recipes in English, watched a local cooking show on TV, and searched the information in English from the Americans. If I had found an American who could speak Japanese and teach traditional American cuisine, I would have taken such a class.
2. Features of this cooking class
I offer a cooking class that can be served in a chaji.
American and Japanese cuisine require different techniques. When I lived in the U.S., I enjoyed watching cooking shows every morning and collecting free supermarket recipes. Through these things, I felt that the Japanese and American cuisines were different with each other, therefore, their cooking techniques were different with each other. In addition, chakaiseki is the ultimate Japanese cuisine, which should be both delicious and beautiful. We need some special cooking techniques and knowledge to make chakaiseki. I re-learned Japanese cuisine from the beginning to acquire them after returning to Japan.
This cooking class teaches the basics of cooking theory and techniques to Americans who have never cooked Japanese food.
The resumes and recipes are written in English. I speak English in my cooking class.
3. Message from those who participated in my cooking class
I enjoyed hearing about both the Japanese ingredients and the ideas for substitutions that we could make work in the US. I thought you did a great job of choosing things that were simple and didn't take too long to cook so that it was easy for us at home to keep up (and easy to try again).
I appreciate that you are offering these online demonstrations through Zoom. What a great idea!
Your energy is impressive. It was fun to watch and learn from you in your kitchen in Japan especially since you are bilingual and have experienced living and cooking in the USA. Your thoughtful research and preparation were obvious. The written material was really good. I think your classes could be enjoyed by various groups.