Undiscovered
Gems of japan
lands
in Austin
MAR. 10 2019
STAGE 1:15pm - 2:15pm
MEET UP 2:15pm - 3:15pm
USA Tour TOP >Austin Event
EVENT DETAIL
DATE
Sunday, March 10th, 2019
TIME
★TIME SCHEDULE HAS UPDATED.
(15 minutes advance)
- Stage
1:15pm - 2:15pm (Presentation by artisans)
- Meet up at terrace
2:15pm - 3:15pm (Sampling and interactive time)
※Limited Food Samples are available each session
CHARGE
Free
※Only those who have been granted access to The New Japan Islands Venue can participate in this session. (Only those with SXSW Badge can participate)
Primary Entry: Music Badge, Platinum Badge, Film Badge, Interactive Badge
※If you don't have SXSW Badge, registration required.
After confirming the details of registration, only those who have been granted access to the venue will be sent a confirmation email to confirm their registration at our event.
CONTENTS
Introduction of ”Undiscovered Gems of Japan”
Introduction and tasting of products from “Undiscovered Gems of Japan”
ABOUT
“Undiscovered Gems of Japan” (UGJ), a project that incorporates innovation with Japanese food, is coming to the United States (US) for the first time. More than 1,000 artisans participate in this event every year, supported by local governments, banks and even TV stations. Supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Japan), this project aims to introduce our revolutionary grassroots movement around 6 major cities in USA between January-March 2019.
What is
Exquisite products are commonly found in the rural areas of Japan. Tea gardens and sake brews that last for generations are some fine examples. However, these producers face the problems of aging and a lack of successors. The wisdom of older generations who have stood strong is at risk of being lost with the changes time brings about.
To prevent this loss, the project "Undiscovered Gems of Japan” was started in 2009. The aim was to support businesses in rural areas in the form of open innovation. Farmers and designers, hotels and fishermen etc. come together in unprecedented partnerships to produce interesting and innovative products and recipes. We presented these items at the competition, awarded prizes, and eventually the crown "Undiscovered Gems of Japan Grand Prix". We followed up with sales support thereafter. As a result, some businesses have even increased sales by 100 times through this project. Starting in 2016 with Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore, a world championship (collaborating with chefs from Asian countries) has been ongoing yearly. This project has been critically acclaimed by renowned chefs worldwide who have also joined our efforts to reinvent their own recipes.
This time, these products and their producers who have won the Grand Prix will first arrive in the USA, visiting 6 cities from January to March 2019. In addition, famous chefs such as Chikara Yamada, who practiced at the restaurant, El Bulli, Spain (which was the best in the world) and Shota Nakajima, who also appeared in Iron Chef, US, also participated in the event. You can try samples from their "Special Menus" that will undoubtedly remain in the minds of all participants.
Why we land
"Undiscovered Gems of Japan", an initiative backed by universities, public institutions, banks, television stations, etc., is now expanding to Singapore and other Asian countries as well. We believe there are "hidden treasures" everywhere. With the power of open innovation, we protect human assets and to produce a newer version to all. Not only can you use the innovations of our project, we also want to create a trend to discover and reinvent the treasures of each US city. At "Undiscovered Gems of Japan", I will impart the methods to do so. Having interacted with such treasures, I am sure you would want to protect them and pass on the baton to the next generations. So please, join us to discover the treasures of this world and I look forward to meeting you.
Takuya Hane, Producer of Undiscovered Gems of Japan
About Takuya Hane
He taught at Harvard University and Pennsylvania University in the 1990s. In 1994, he was awarded the Certificate of Distinction in Teaching by Harvard University. In 1997, Active Learning Co., Ltd. (hereinafter AL) was established in Tokyo. He incorporated US style education in Japanese schools (From 2020 the Ministry of Education decided to fully introduce AL in all schools in Japan. Hane was said to be the pioneer of Active Learning in Japan - Wikipedia). In addition to academic support, it supports human resource development and business development of major companies such as Sony and Panasonic. The method of making employees active and creating an evolving organization has received high praise from the business world and been adopted by companies and government related organizations around Asia. We are also involved in project planning and facilitating collaboration between people from different fields to create new products with the power of open innovation. "Undiscovered Gems of Japan" was started by Professor Takuya Hane in 2009, while he was teaching in National Yamaguchi University.
artisan
from Japan
Muneharu Ozaki
- Miami -
~Ozaki Farm Co., Ltd.~
UGJ Honorary Member, Ministry of Agriculture award (1997)
Within 30 years, he devised a new way to rear cattle, risen to the pinnacle and been backed internationally.
Yoshiaki Yoshida
- Miami -
~Yoshidaya~
World GP Champion (2018)
One of only six remaining producers using the traditional way of making sake in a time when modern Amazake (fermented rice drink) is popular.
We will also bring other TOP artisans' products!!
Enjoy the tasting!
COLLABORATION
with Star Chef
Chikara Yamada
Guest Chef
NYC, Honolulu, Miami, Austin
Chef Chikara Yamada artfully combines elements of Japanese, French and Spanish cuisines to create an elegant dining experience for his guests. His culinary career began with an introduction to French cuisine by renowned Chef Genshiro Saito of Shunkoutei in Shizuoka before developing his career as a chef in Tokyo. Afterwards, Chikara spent time at several Italian eateries and traditional Japanese ryokan, restaurant Shigetsu in Yugawara, before moving to Spain. Over the course of seven years, Chikara lived in Barcelona, where he owned two eateries before joining the team of Michelin 3-star restaurant, El Bulli – where he trained under Chef Ferran Adrià.
Taking elements and knowledge of each cuisine, Chikara returned to Japan as the Head Chef at Shukoutei Grill Mercado, and in 2007 opened his namesake restaurant, Yamada Chikara, in Tokyo to express his unique and boundary-less cuisine. The New York location specializes in high-end omakase with a menu of kushiage – a deep-fried Japanese skewer. Here, Chikara incorporates his unique molecular gastronomy techniques into his cooking by using practices such as espumas and liquid nitrogen.
Chikara is a member of Japan Airlines’ Dream Team of star chefs curating premium in-flight meals for JAL BEDD SKY AUBERGE – JAL’s “exclusive restaurant in the sky”, which are served to first and business class travelers. Chef has attended the annual World Cuisine Academic Meeting in Hakodate since its kick off in 2009, served as the representative chef from Japan at CIA’s World of Flavors Conference 2013, and has been appointed as the Japanese ambassador for Champagne Krug since 2015.
Register
We have reached the maximum number of participants.
Thank you so much for your interest and registration.
※Only those who have been granted access to The New Japan Islands Venue can participate in this session.
(Only those with SXSW Badge can participate)
Primary Entry: Music Badge, Platinum Badge, Film Badge, Interactive Badge
For further information on following Undiscovered Gems of Japan events, please submit your name and email address below.
SponsOr
& partners
Sponsor
Undiscovered Gems of Japan Inc.
Active Learning Corporation
official page ( Japanese ) : https://www.undiscovered.jp/
official page ( Japanese ) : http://www.als.co.jp/
With Cooperation from
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan
Consulate General of Japan in Houston
other citiES
Please check here.
contact
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