Top-end Italian chef training on offer in Tokyo cook-off

Mama mia -- free flights to Italy, accommodation and cooking lessons from a top restaurant in Sorrento? Who wouldn’t say “grazie -- sign me up please”?

That’s the prize for the winner of an unusual travel-related competition from the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Japan (ICCJ) that’s setting out to find the most creative Italian cuisine chef in the country.

With the final set for mid-December, the ICCJ is already accepting applications from chefs under 40 years old who can attend the runoff at the Hattori Nutrition College in Tokyo. All nationalities except Italian are eligible.

Real deal

Event organizers explain the rationale of holding such a competition in a country already jam-packed with Italian restaurants and chefs:

“The event has the objective of introducing new talents to the Italian culinary scene in Japan, while at the same time promoting the knowledge of real regional Italian cuisine in Japan.”

Not everyone can make it through to the final showdown. The ¥7,000 entry fee will get participants onto the long list, from which 10 will be selected to go through their paces on December 14.

Original dishes only

Entrants are required to submit an original recipe for a dish (appetizer, pasta or main) for four people, along with three photos of the finished meal.

On the day of the competition, a 60-minute cook-off will yield a winner. There are other prizes, including kitchenware, for the campione and runners-up.

With the judging panel including Vincenzo Petrone, the Italian Ambassador, and more Tokyo-based Italian luminaries than you can shake a zucchini at, it’s a safe bet food will be the real winner.

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