On Thursday, December 7, we successfully held a tasting event in Japan for the project to make bouillabaisse, a traditional fish dish from Marseille in the south of France, a World Heritage Site, which we have been involved in since August this year.
Many reports from the participants have been posted on X (formerly Twitter) with the hashtag #lechallengebouillabaisse, so please take a look at them.
I would like to share with you some of the stories that I have been working on as an organizer or a voice from the inside of the project.
When we received this offer in August, we had to make all arrangements in only three and a half months of preparation, so we immediately started looking for a venue and restaurants to collaborate with for the event from various angles. However, we were having a hard time making a decision, and finally, Restaurant KIGI (the restaurant that cooperated with us this time) gave us a favorable answer, and we were able to start preparations.
We had to import all the main ingredients directly from France, and the shipping and customs clearance from the local market was also very exciting and nerve-wracking.
First of all, the spices to be used in this project arrived at our company in September.
We were relieved that the importation was completed without any problems.
Next came the champagne, which was also imported directly from France.
One day during the daytime, I received a call on my cell phone from a French cell phone number, and when I answered, it was a person in charge of the champagne manufacturer. I was in a cold sweat. I had informed them of the delivery time beforehand, but there were some small incidents that were not conveyed properly, but this did not cause any major problems and was resolved.
The problem was something else.
One of the suppliers of foodstuffs for the local restaurant had specified our address as the shipping address, instead of the restaurant at the venue. I thought to myself, “This is not good! If we receive such a large quantity, we will have to bring it to the venue ourselves. Somehow, we managed to contact the French vendor to change the address of the final delivery address, and the water that everyone drank at the venue was safely delivered after a new shipping slip had already been made up.
The most exciting part of the event was the fish that would be the main dish of the day. The day before the event, we received a call from the Japanese importer saying that some of the ingredients might not clear customs due to incomplete documentation. What are you talking about? I thought to myself. I couldn’t believe that something like this could happen, and my stomach was already aching.
Meanwhile, the French team left for Japan at the same time and arrived in the morning of the day before the event.
At around 2:00 p.m., we visited the restaurant where the event was to be held for a preliminary inspection, where we met with Mr. Ivan, the owner of Le Caranque Bleue, who informed us for the first time that the food might not arrive due to customs clearance issues. We were then able to prepare for the day of the event, while thinking about how to deal with the situation.
We arrived at the venue around 10:30 a.m., but even at that point, we were still not sure if we would receive the import permit, so we were talking with Ivan and the others.
While we were still waiting for the import permit, we were informed that the fish had been safely imported and would be delivered to the venue after 11:00.
While we were still waiting for the delivery to arrive, the delivery company delivered the fish to the restaurant without incident. We, together with the chefs, inspected the fish and other ingredients that had finally been delivered, and we were all overjoyed! We were overjoyed. After that, we were finally able to start preparing the food.
The day before the event, we had an eve party with all the participants who came to Japan.
At that time, there were introductions of all staff members and VIP guests.
I had the opportunity to talk a lot with Mr. Xavier, who is working for France at the United Nations New York, and Mr. Gomez Guillaume, who is in the position of making the world know about French cuisine with the French President (he was the youngest person to get the highest decoration of MOF France at the time and is not unknown in the French culinary world). I had the opportunity to talk a lot with Mr. Gomez Guillaume.
On the day of the event, all hands were mobilized from the morning to prepare and set the table.
First, after rearranging all the table arrangements to the special specifications for this event, everyone in the kitchen was moving extremely quickly and rapidly in preparation, from the chef checking the imported ingredients to the people making the soup and spreading the garlic spice paste on the bread.
On the way to the restaurant, I asked the chef at Restaurant KIGI, “Is there anything I can help you with?” He was surprised and said, “They move so fast. The way they do things is totally different. KIGI originally serves Japanese cuisine, so their style is completely different.
Now that the preparation was complete, we took a lunch break. All the staff returned to the hotel, packed up, and reassembled in the evening. This was the final stage of welcoming everyone to the event.
Aprons, menus, etc. were set up on the tables, and sound and video checks were made at the MC’s spot.
After careful discussions with the interpreter, the doors opened at 6:00 pm.
Mr. Xavier was the main MC for the opening ceremony. Then, Mr. Ivan of Le Caranque Bleue, a French restaurant, gave a speech, followed by a toast and the serving of food.
At each table, we could see that the participants were enjoying themselves.
We, too, enjoyed the food at our table. At the table, we were seated with Mr. Gomez, the former Consul of Marseille, and we also had a great time.
Below are some photos of the meal served.
The event came to a close with introductions of all staff members and after-dinner drinks being served.
When I saw everyone leave with satisfaction when I saw them off,
All the hard work that had been put into the event was blown away.
Once again, thank you very much for this opportunity.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you.
