The D-day finally arrived and I left home Saturday morning under a raging thunder storm to join the cooking contest finale at the Hattori nutrition college. I felt totally unprepared and a bit stressed. On the same day they were having entrance exam for the college and college tours so it was a bit crowded and confusing. We were 10 finalists from 75 applications. Some were people working in the cooking business, most just cooking fan like me all from different country so looking at their recipes was really interesting. The relaxed and nice atmosphere helped me a bit to cool down but seeing there recipes actually made me nervous, and seeing at how most were prepared I kind of freaked! Cooking in a pro-kitchen under cameras and photographers and a jury was really intimidating and the worst part was having to deal with ingredients I didn’t choose. I tried to do my best but I was not quite satisfied with the result. The dough was perfect I found but the filling it was not quite right… The plating was hell! I am so bad at plating. And the photoshoot of the dish afterwards was really though. I am probably not going to win that contest (I realized afterwards that my cooking habit of doing everything from the scratch with only seasonal and lical products may not suit everyone) but I really enjoyed the opportunity, the very friendly atmosphere and the very helpful staff from the college. Thanks also for the jury: Mr. Yukio HATTORI (President of Hattori Nutrition College), Ms. Remi HIRANO (Cooking expert and Chanson singer), Ms. Akiko WATANABE (Cooking expert), Mr. Isao IIMURA (Executive chef of Royal Park Hotel). It was fun to chitchat with them while cooking!! . Thanks Japanese Soya Sauce Association and I will for sure challenge myself with a new recipe next year!!!
