An article on a recent culinary study, held by Japanese students in Bangalore
(By Sahnya Mehra; March 2018)
Japanese cuisine has, over the last few years, become all the rage. In Bangalore, particularly, many Japanese restaurants have cropped up all over the city. While the authenticity of many places can be debated, caterers from all over the city are starting to offer everything from Tempura fried meats, to food in Teriyaki sauce, and the ever – popular sushi and sashimi.
On the 22nd of March, 2018, a group of college interns held a tasting of traditional Japanese food at WeWork EGL, Bangalore. The Takahashi Group, from Fukuoka, is a company with an incredible story. In 1965, Mr. Kawahiko Takahashi, the owner of an established textile company, opened one of the first sport and fitness centres in Japan. Within the next decade, he went on to establish a company that dealt primarily with play areas, game arenas, and bowling alleys. The current CEO, Mr. Hikotaro Takahashi, grandson on the founder, went on to not only expand the company, but revolutionize it. As a college student, he was inspired by other nationalities and cultures, and developed a global perspective of life.
Today, Takahashi Co. Limited serves as a “locally – focused general trading enterprise”. The group manages several branches of their main company, with businesses in sports, fitness, agriculture, foodservice, and real estate. This gives them an enigmatic presence in diverse fields of business. With their slogan of “Creating Something to Live For”, they have established themselves as a household name in Japan.
Looking to expand into India, Mr. Takahashi had personally accompanied a batch of interns to Bangalore, along with Mr. Tetsuro Fujimi, the Executive Concierge of Startup Café Fukuoka City, and current Business Planning and Development Office Director with the Takahashi Group.
The Takahashi Group had recently started an entrepreneurial program for students, as an offshoot of their parent company. A major part of the course is to engage students in the actual processes of marketing and development. This involves them undertaking week - long trips abroad, in order to not only learn the culture and tastes of other countries, but to gain awareness of the products being developed. In 2017, students visited San Francisco, and this year, Bangalore was chosen to host the interns that had applied to the program. The focus is to conduct a market survey into the eating habits of working Indians, and to test whether some of their food products would sell, here. This time, the concept was unique, as the interns had the task of actually developing the product to be sold, as compared to just marketing an existing commodity.
The interns, who are all in the process of pursuing various fields of study – were looking to develop easy, hassle - free food for the working person who’s constantly on the move. With a target market of people within the ages of 25 - 35, who lead a hectic corporate life with little time to spend on cooking, the students set out to market food that could be eaten as quick snacks, which were a healthy and a complete meal in itself.
The students had been preparing the delicacies since 8 am, that very morning, in order to have it displayed at 12 pm. The final menu was decided a few days prior to the event, and on the 22nd, the spread was open to all the employees of WeWork, and other professionals who worked there.
The employees were served tori - karaage, a Japanese style fried chicken, okonomi - yaki, a savoury pancake with spinach and onions, udon noodles with a spicy sauce, and a platter of smoked chicken ham. An assortment of spices was served alongside. The sharpness of the wasabi, the zest of the Ponzu – a citrus flavoured soy sauce, and the aromatic yuzu – a lemon chilli paste, all contributed the overall experience of the food.
The students gained feedback from various people, after the event. It was found that most people who had sampled the food had never tried Japanese cuisine before, and were pleasantly surprised by the variety of food served. Many said that the fried chicken was a relatively familiar taste – likely due to the presence of American fast food restaurants, which serve a similar batter - fried chicken – but most found the okonomi - yaki (pancake) to be an entirely new flavour. One of the biggest hits was undoubtedly the udon noodles. A soft, mild flavoured noodle made of wheat flour, the udon noodle is extremely versatile. One of the major benefits is that it can take on the taste of any item paired with it, while still maintaining its simplicity.
A large amount of people stated that they would definitely want to buy the food if available to them on a regular basis. The only complaint was that the people would have liked more vegetarian options to the food – an idea that is extremely important to take into consideration, when catering to Indian preferences and palates.
The session was deemed to be a success, and the interns were extremely satisfied with the quality of feedback received. It was a relatively novel experience, for both the nationalities involved, and was one that probably shed a lot of insight into the intricacies of each culture. Eventually, it always comes down to food!