[General Incorporated Association Chefs for the Blue]
15 students and 4 top chefs selected from all over the country will open a limited-time restaurant in Tokyo and Kyoto with proposals for the future of marine resource management.
*Chefs for the Blue General Incorporated Association*
Press release: September 9, 2024
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15 students and 4 top chefs selected from all over the country will open a limited-time restaurant in Tokyo and Kyoto with proposals for the future of marine resource management.
*~ 240 people attended in one week with content expressing the current situation of Japan’s marine resources such as “Dystopia Fish Shop” and “Mag Potato” ~*
Chefs for the General Incorporated Association conducts awareness activities aimed at sustainable oceans.
Blue (Sendagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Representative Director: Hiroko Sasaki) is a program where students who will lead the next generation and four top chefs from Tokyo and Kyoto think, learn, and put into practice the future of the ocean.
BLUE
CAMP (Blue Camp)” will be held as a continuation from last year. As part of the final program, a limited-time pop-up restaurant was held in Tokyo from August 6th (Tuesday) to August 11th (Sunday) and in Kyoto from August 5th (Monday) to August 10th (Saturday).
THE BLUE CAMP 2024
THE BLUE CAMP logo
“THE BLUE
CAMP is a human resource development program for the next generation of young people who will lead the future, supported by the Nippon Foundation’s Ocean and Japan Project. We provide opportunities to learn and practice about the ocean, fisheries, and their
sustainability, and cultivate the seeds of human resources who can work in various fields related to the ocean and marine products in the future. This year is the second time the program has been held, following last year, and 15 high school students, university students, and vocational school students selected from two locations in Tokyo and Kyoto participated in the program. Four top chefs from Tokyo and Kyoto served as mentors throughout the program, and a limited-time restaurant was opened in August as a place to convey the content of their learning and thinking over the three months.
HP: https://thebluecamp.jp/
note: https://note.com/the_bluecamp/
* -Tokyo Team Restaurant “Aonoima” Overview-*
At the restaurant “Aonoima,” which was planned mainly by eight students from the Tokyo team, four dishes were served and a
presentation was held, highlighting the three months of learning and the management of marine resources in Japan. I expressed my thoughts on facing the current situation.
tokyo team
At the restaurant venue, four dishes (two appetizers, a set meal, and a dessert) containing a message for the future of the sea, devised together with mentor chefs Ryohei Hayashi of [Tenoshima] and Chef Sayaka Horiuchi of [Oryori Horiuchi]. ) offers course meals. The menu offered at the restaurant was created by students who came up with ideas for everything from the selection of fish species to cooking methods and preparation.
* -Prologue “Dystopian Fish Shop”- *
The restaurant’s waiting room is a “dystopian fish shop.”
Instead of fish, signs such as “89% reduction in sardines” and “96% reduction in saury” are lined up on Styrofoam sheets placed in the fish shop waiting for visitors. This number represents how much the catch has decreased since its peak. The student in charge of the presentation seriously explained the current status of Japan’s fisheries resources.
“Dystopia Fish Shop” about the catch amount of each fish species
* -cooking- *
The door from the dystopian fish store to the restaurant opened, and students in charge of service greeted customers as they were ushered into the dining room. Two students, including one conducting fisheries research at the university, were seated alongside the guests and conveyed the thoughts they put into the food they served and what they had learned over the past three months.
Venue situation
* 1. Appetizer: Cold boiled sardine in tomato sauce*
Seasonal sardines are cooked in oil at a low temperature and served with a refreshing summery tomato sauce. Sardine, one of the fish familiar to Japanese people, is the most commonly caught fish in marine fishing as of 2020. However, only about 30% of it actually goes into the human mouth, and most of it is used as feed for aquaculture and as feed fertilizer for the agricultural and livestock industries. I realized the importance of eating sardines and wanted to increase the value of sardines, so I offered them to them.
*2． Fried food: Fried black sea bream with rice flour, summer vegetable sauce* The second dish I used was black sea bream. We focused on the fact that although they are often lined up at fish stores, they are rarely seen at supermarkets in the city. This fish species was selected with the hope that by learning about the deliciousness of black sea bream here, more people will visit fish shops, and that this will create an opportunity to reconsider the importance of fish shops, which support Japan’s fish-eating culture. .
*3. Dinner: Full of tuna (boiled blood, yamakake, fishtail soup, pickled vegetables, rice)*
The “tuna-zukushi” meal served as the main dish utilizes unused parts of bluefin tuna. The students learned that chiai, which is often thrown away, is actually rich in iron and B vitamins, and can be extremely delicious if cooked properly. In order to suppress the fishy smell and dry texture, we made many prototypes and created a boiled dish with a crumbly texture and rich flavor. Bluefin tuna tail meat is also used for the fishballs in the soup. The tail meat of tuna, a migratory fish that constantly moves its tail fins, develops muscular strength and is characterized by its strong umami flavor and firm texture.
The muscle between the skin and the flesh contains a lot of collagen, so heating it gives it a soft texture. We conveyed the message that we can learn from the current state of bluefin tuna, whose resources are on the rise as a result of resource management, and that making delicious use of unused parts will increase the value of each fish. * 4. Sweetness: Peach water yokan, seaweed marinated in lemon honey* For sweetness, this mizuyokan is made by combining seasonal peaches with white bean paste, and garnished with seaweed pickled in honey. Seaweed, also called the cradle of the sea, is often used as a place for fish to spawn and raise their young, and plays an important role in the marine ecosystem.
In recent years, as “Isoyake” has become a problem, we wanted to reconsider the importance of seaweed, so we used it as a dessert.
* -Epilogue “Three messages left by students”-*
Students’ brainboard with the theme “How to continue to eat fish 100 years from now”
* 1. There are no infinite number of fish*
During the three months of study, the first message I encountered was that there is no limit to the number of fish. Fish, which are a natural resource, will decrease if we catch too much. During their three-month study, the students met fishermen who are trying to avoid overfishing in order to preserve resources for the future. However, he emphasized that these efforts were only a small part of the story, and that there is still room for improvement in Japan’s fishing industry through resource management.
*2． Conflict between hope and reality “Moyamoya”*
When holding the pop-up restaurant, the students asked a big question: “How can we continue to eat fish 100 years from now?”
As the culmination of three months of study, the students came to the conclusion that they were unsure of the answer. “I now understand that Japan’s technology and culture for eating fish are excellent, and that resource management is important.However, I still don’t know the best way to manage resources, and I still don’t know what consumers can do about it.” do not have.
It seems that the best way to protect the ocean is to not catch or eat it, but that doesn’t mean we can’t protect our fish-eating culture. I wonder if it would be a good idea to encourage people to buy eco-certified fish as proof of resource management, but doing so would limit the types of fish that can be eaten, and the diverse fish-eating culture would decline. There are fishermen who continue to fish sustainably even without certification, but I don’t understand whether the quality of fish and fishermen should be determined by the presence or absence of “certification.” Or, if resources are decreasing, should we increase them through aquaculture? However, currently, wild fish are essential as feed for farmed fish, and the impact of fishing them on the ecosystem is significant. …”
Because the students had learned about the current state of the ocean from various players, they were unable to come up with a single optimal answer to the question, “What should we do to continue to eat fish 100 years from now?” I felt that it was irresponsible to not be able to provide an answer, and I was left with a big feeling of dismay. Still, some visitors were moved to tears by the sight of the students, who were at a loss for words but honestly expressed their conflict and confusion, wanting to convey the conclusions they had reached as the culmination of their learning.
*3. Nothing changes if you don’t know, something changes by knowing* Although the students were unable to come up with an answer, they felt that their thinking and behavior had changed significantly by learning about the current state of the ocean through three months of study. There were more opportunities for fish to be on the table, people started going to fish shops they had never been to before, and they started actively cooking fish they had never cooked before. The students who experienced these changes first-hand said, “I want you to start by talking about what you felt and learned here today with people close to you. “I want as many people as possible to take an interest in the future of the ocean,” he concluded.
* -Kyoto Team Restaurant “Sazanami” Overview- *
The restaurant “Sazanami,” which was planned by seven students from the Kyoto team, has a unique concept that provides an “experience” to visitors. Through demonstrations and simulated experiences, the students expressed their thoughts and struggles regarding Japan’s fishing industry that they learned through three months of study. Kyoto team
During the 6-day restaurant operation, the Culinary Director served as a mentor. We served five courses (two appetizers, a main dish, a set meal, and a sweet) that conveyed a message for the future of the sea, devised together with Chef Atsushi Middle East and Chef Kenno Sakai of [Japanese Cuisine Kenno].
* -cooking-*
* 1. Appetizer: Ichiban dashi soup made from true kelp and dried bonito flakes* The first dish served was “dashi”, which is the basis of Japanese cuisine. The catch of true kelp, which is the basis of dashi stock, has decreased by 97% compared to 10 years ago, and the number of bonito used for bonito flakes has also decreased. We decided to offer this dish because we want people to feel the importance and warmth of dashi in Japanese cuisine, and to preserve the deliciousness of dashi for future generations.
*2． Construction: 2024 plate*
* (Sashimi fillet, Japanese ceviche, seaweed roll) *
Sashimi of fillet, Japanese style ceviche
The second dish we served was a fish called “Hira,” which is rarely eaten outside of Okayama Prefecture. It is difficult to cook because it has many small bones, and is often classified as an “unused fish” outside of Okayama Prefecture. The students were impressed by the deliciousness of the fillet served at Uoharu, a fish shop that has been in business for 126 years in Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture. We wanted people to know the deliciousness of flounder in a variety of ways, and we also wanted to express the discomfort of being called an “unused fish” even if they don’t know how to eat it or how delicious it is. provided by.
Seaweed roll
*3. Scooping Bay: Fried tofu*
The students learned how to avoid catching immature fish by increasing the size of the mesh as a resource management method. In order to let people experience this method, we created the main dish, “Scooping Bay.” The bean paste made from small fish such as whitebait (young anchovies) is poured over fried tofu using two large and small mesh ladles. We staged a performance where participants could experience the difference in the amount of fish they could scoop up depending on the size of the mesh.
* 4. Rice meal: mug potatoes, sardines boiled in plum, sea bass grilled with miso yuan*
We chose Pacific bluefin tuna, sea bass, and sardine because we wanted people to learn not only about the difficulties of resource
management, but also about success stories and possibilities. Pacific bluefin tuna resources were once in decline, but as a result of national resource management efforts, stocks have been on a recovery trend in recent years. This time, we arranged the standard home-cooked “Niku-Jaga” meat with tuna and served it as “Mug-Jaga”. The message is that you can enjoy delicious fish just by changing “meat” to “fish.”
In addition, the Suzuki used was purchased from Kazuhiko Ohno of Daiden Maru, who is engaged in independent resource management in Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture. He emphasized the importance of resource management at each level, regardless of the size of the country or individual fishermen. Sardines are small fish that support large fish such as tuna and sea bass. If the number of small fish at the bottom of the food chain decreases, the number of large fish that eat them will also decrease. We hope that people will reconsider the importance of small fish such as sardines.
*5. Sweetness: Kelp and bonito ice cream*
The dessert ice cream uses kelp and bonito flakes made from the first dish. We expressed the idea of using up all the leftover
ingredients, along with the message, “We meet again.”
* ■I want you to experience the conflicts surrounding the ocean at your dining table*
The Kyoto team was particular about designing an experiential pop-up restaurant that would make people think about the current state and future of the ocean through a delicious experience at the dining table.
One of them is the fried tofu served at Kikuru Bay.
By scooping up bean paste with small fish and shrimp representing the sea using ladles of different mesh sizes, participants experienced the daily struggles of fishermen.
“There are many different sizes of fish in the sea, but if you catch them with a scoop with a large mesh, you will catch large fish but not small ones.On the other hand, if you catch them with a scoop with a small mesh, you will catch small fish. Of course, it is better to save small fish for the future, but they are also a great source of income for fishermen as fish are no longer available in recent years and fuel prices have increased. If things continue like this, I won’t be able to feed my family if I don’t catch small fish.But if I don’t catch small fish now, the stock will increase in a year or two, and the price of fish will increase. What is the best choice to make so that we can continue to eat? This is the struggle faced by fishermen and the difficulty of resource management.”
In addition to having a delicious experience, we also wanted to think about the future of the ocean, so after the second dish, “Plates of 2024,” we offered “Sashimi 100 years from now.” On top of the plate was not food, but letters from three people who care about the future of the ocean: a fisherman, a fishmonger, and a chef.
A customer reads a letter from three people who care about the future of the sea: a fisherman, a fishmonger, and a chef.
* -Voices from participants-*
■Mr. K.I.
I was impressed by the fact that the event was designed not just to provide food, but as a comprehensive presentation of social issues and activities through food. I was moved and inspired by how members of different generations and fields collaborated with a clear awareness of the issues. I believe that your activities will bring about changes in society from now on. Thank you for giving me such an important opportunity.
■Sawako Kimishima (Chief Editor, Ryori Tsushinsha Co., Ltd.) The selection of ingredients and the way they were used made sense, and I was completely satisfied with the type of fish, part, cooking method, and taste. I think it’s wonderful how the camp is set up, where the learning is transferred to the restaurant. It is true that I feel that professional restaurant workers need to be more aware of the possibilities and social role that restaurants have.
■Toru Yamamoto (Representative Director and CEO of Houdison Co., Ltd.) (In response to the question, “What do you remember?”) I felt confused as I faced a problem that was complex and could not be solved quickly. I was moved by the fact that he did not choose to come up with easy-to-understand answers and feel refreshed, and I felt that he had the courage to face difficult problems in the future.
■Mr. Hirohide Matsushima (Fisheries Agency, Resource Management Promotion Office)
This activity made me realize even more the importance of reaching out to people other than those involved in the fisheries industry. I felt that so-called general consumers simply do not know the current state of marine resources, but if we share information with them, they will become interested and take action. In the future, we would like to be even more proactive in our external activities.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Aqv-z27Fzo
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