MIOFIBCAIIMNIAWednesday, August 25, 2021The Shinro Shimbun Hawaii Edition15One of the specialty dishes served by Mr. Makino.Beefsteak and mashed potatoes with freeze-dried soy sauce. This dish expresses the sustenance from the earth.Mr. Yuta Makino is a resident chef of the Consulate General of Japan in Honolulu. He graduated from a culinary school in Japan, and had working experiences at a lot of traditional Japanese restaurants to be a specialist in Japanese food. We interviewed his background and got a message for the young people in Hawaii who want to study in Japan.―Could you tell us about your job?y job is to prepare dishes for dinner parties or receptions held at the Consulate General of Japan in Honolulu. Most of the guests are VIPs including government officials and local company's executives. So I think of my role at the consulate is that of a “Culinary Diplomat.” By preparng delicious foods, I hope I can encourage good conversations at very important diplomatic meetings.manage all of the processes, from buying ingredients to the preparation of the dishes. My job starts with selecting fresh ingredients early in the morning and I spend a lot of time doing so. It is necessary to select fresh ingredients, because they affect the taste. Fresh seafood and vegetables are often sold out quickly after the market opens. At supermarkets in Hawaii, most seafood are sold frozen and it is very hard to find fresh seafood here.―Could you tell us what you think of when you do your job?f course it is important to serve delicious foods. Also, I try to add an element of surprise when I prepare foods so that diplomatic meetings include a fun and cordial atmosphere. For example, Japanese foods (as known as washoku) are composed of the taste of seaweed and bonito broth. I think it is interesting the foods appear to be western, but the taste is Japanese. I hope the guests enjoy the gap between the appearance of the foods and the actual taste.rom an idea, I create an original menu. I serve Japanese food in parfait glass and make it look like a dessert, but when tasting the dish, guests realize that it is an appetizer or main dish. When I succeed in producing the “surprise element” and find the guests enjoy my dishes, I feel that I have fulfilled my job.n addition, I usually portray the four Japanese seasons, which are very colorful in my dishes. In Japanese food, there is the word “Fuumi (fragrant flavor),” which is the expression of the feeling of aroma and aftertaste when you eat Japanese foods. I try to express the four Japanese seasons flavor by using “wasabi,” “yuzu (citrus junos),” and “sansho pepper.” By understanding each ingredient and its flavor, and by adding each flavor to the food effectively, I can help the guests feel each season when they taste the foods.oth Hawaii and Japan are islands. Both have rich ingredients from the sea and mountains, which have strong and delicious tastes. Japanese foods are unique with their characteristics of bringing out the ingredients' natural flavor. Hawaii ingredients such as herbs and citrus fruits have strong tastes, so I have been learning how to adapt those kinds of ingredients to Japanese cuisine through trial and error every day. I think it is very difficult, but it is worth doing.―When do you think is challenging at your job?ommunication in English is challenging to me. For example, when I go shopping to buy ingredients, I sometimes have difficulty ordering the specific amount of ingredients in English. I also feel it is difficult to request the freshest ingredients. That's when I really feel the language barrier. When I face such challenges, I try to explain my request in another way such as by using my smartphone or by gesturing.nother challenge is when I am able to meet the guests at the end of the meal. Of course I'm always happy to listen to the comments from the guests. However, I always think if I could speak English more fluently, I would be able to explain to the guests the meaning and thought put into each of the dishes. If they can understand the background of the dishes, then they would be able to enjoy the taste more.―What do you think is the most important attitude working as a chef?believe the only and most important thing working as a chef is “how you love to eat.” It is no surprise to know that if you would like to serve delicious food, you need to eat delicious food. If you would like to work as a chef, you need to establish your standard of deliciousness by getting working experience at several places: from fancy ●ProfileBorn in Shizuoka in 1974. After graduating from Tsuji Culinary Institute, worked at Japanese restaurants in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka. In 2004, assigned as a resident chef of the Consulate General of Japan in Strasbourg, France. Since November 2020, assigned as a resident chef of the Consulate General of Japan in Honolulu.restaurants to simple family restaurants. The more you learn what is delicious, the more you can expand your palate and sensibility.n addition, looking back to my training period at a restaurant, my boss told me to learn Sado (tea ceremony) and Ikebana (flower arrangement). At that time I couldn't understand why he told me to do so, but now I understand the importance. Learning Sado and Ikebana is necessary to expand my sense of beauty. So I recommend you to expand your sense of beauty in daily life, like visiting museums.―What inspired you to want to be a chef and when?y parents like to cook and eat food, so I also got to like that. One day when I was in 10th grade student, my father took me to a local restaurant. I remember the chef cooked fresh ingredients which were carefully selected in the morning, and his dishes were delicious. That was when I got inspired to be a chef. So, after graduating from high school, I entered a culinary school and got a chef's license. After graduating from the culinary school, I worked at a Japanese restaurant in Akasaka, Tokyo.At first, I could barely keep up with the training taught by my boss and the senior chef. It was very rigorous training and I now know why. Because only one cooking mistake may lead to a restaurant's failure. I'm very grateful to them now.―Could you give a message to the students who are interested becoming a chef?ot only in a Japanese restaurant, but also in other types of restaurants, the number of the young Japanese people who want to become chefs have been decreasing. I'm very sad to hear that. But, at the same time, I'm glad to know that a lot of young people from foreign countries want to study in Japan and learn about Japanese food, culture, and sensibility. I hope more and more young chefs in Hawaii learn about the Japanese food culture and lead the culinary field. That proves that not only Japanese, but foreign chefs can serve delicious Japanese food. This is my advice for those who would like to go to Japan to learn to become a chef. A chef must have inquisitiveness. Be curious about several kinds of food and expand your palate. To be a good chef, you must memorize each ingredient's taste and characteristics, which will help you when you work as a chef.worked at a Japanese restaurant, where no one taught me how to cook. I had to carefully observe how my boss and the senior chef cooked, and remember their techniques. Recently, it seems that the style of teaching how to cook has been changing. You are trained by being told what to do from A to Z. However, I think it is not good to just be a passive learner. The important point is what you need to do to make your dream come true. It is important to have a vivid vision of what kind of chef you want to be.bout scholarships, there is the “Japanese Government Scholarship” for “Specialized Training College Student.” This scholarship will allow you the opportunity to study in Japan for a total of three years. According to The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in Japan, there are several fields you can apply for : Technology, Personal Care and Nutrition, Education and Welfare, Business, Fashion and Home Economics, Culture, General Education, etc. So if you are interested in other study fields including the culinary field, you may want to apply for this scholarship. Applying for and receiving a scholarship is one of the ways to be able to study abroad in Japan.Written in two languagesConsul General's Chef is the "Culinary Diplomat", connecting Japan with other countries by serving my dishes.Developing my palate and aesthetic sense by having delicious foodsMr. Yuta Makino
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