Washoku World Challenge 2015

The final round for Washoku World Challenge 2015 was held on Friday, January 30, 2015. Jaran Deephuak, head chef at Japanese restaurant Nanohana in Thailand, was recognized as best of all entrants and awarded the Gold prize.
There were unfortunately no entrants who met the qualifications for Silver prize, so two people were awarded the Bronze prize.

Tilefish steamed with satoimo eddoes and soba

Jaran Deephuak
Male 41y/o Thailand
Head chef at Nanohana

Jaran Deephuak was the only finalist who was making a second try at Washoku World Challenge, and his efforts paid off with a unanimous decision by the judges that he deserved the Gold prize.
By steaming tilefish and satoimo eddoes, he brought out the original tastes of those ingredients. And then he combined them with a mixed bonito-and-kelp-based dashi and topped with nori and fresh wasabi horseradish to complete the plate. Deephuak recommends eating it while savoring the sweet flavor of tilefish and satoimo eddoes and seeing the taste gradually change with nori and wasabi. His conceiving and presenting such as dish with confidence earned this talented chef the Gold prize.

Seafood with tomato and turnip in savory broth

Cho Seo Young

Female 40y/o South Korea
Tsuji Culinary Institute

"Mt. Fuji in Early Spring": Turnip stuffed with crab dumpling

Gonzalo Santiago Bautista

Male 48y/o Mexico
Head chef at Suntory Del Valle

Tilefish steamed with satoimo eddoes and soba

There is an element of surprise with the imo soba noodles that are placed over tilefish. As you continue to eat it, you taste the bonito-based dashi, nori and fresh horseradish, as well as umami.

Jaran Deephuak

Male 41y/o Thailand
Head chef at Nanohana

Harmony: Western-style nikujaga

Nikujaga, or beef cooked with potatoes, is everyone's favorite dish, appearing in all Japanese cookbooks. The menu was contrived not as a side dish with rice, but as a dish that goes well with wine. By cooking the same ingredients two different ways, I hope to convey the fun of seeing the traditional and the contemporary encounter each other in a single dish.

Ko Jee Eeun

Female 46y/o South Korea
Hattori Nutrition College

Crab dumplings steamed in the shell

This is a dish that makes full use of the inherent taste and aroma of crabmeat, with the added flavor of an elegant, classy dish.

Gil Taek Pyo

Male 46y/o South Korea
Supervising chef at Hanazono in The Ritz Carlton Seoul

Sweet miso and jalapeno seared Salmon sashimi

It plays on every taste buds we have, from umami flavor to sweet to spicy and the sashimi bringing out the plain natural flavor.　It is almost like a festival in your mouth.

Usman Khan

Male 30y/o Pakistan
Sushi chef at Nobu in Cape Town

Simmered Sauries with Pickled Plums

High quality fresh fish with regular Japanese ingredients. It's a seasonal dish and my specialty which suitable for VIP guests.

Wasala Thusharath Mudiyanselage

Male 45y/o Sri Lanka
Senior sous chef at Kiku in Le Meridien Dubai

"Mt. Fuji in Early Spring": Turnip stuffed with crab dumpling

I thought up of this dish, with inspiration by Mt. Fuji, a beautiful mountain in Japan.

Gonzalo Santiago Bautista

Male 48y/o Mexico
Head chef at Suntory Del Valle

Seafood with tomato and turnip in savory broth

Oseon is said to be a menu item that was once served in the royal Korean court long ago. It is an elegant and healthy dish, featuring a well-balanced collaboration of vegetables and fish. I also used the five distinct colors of South Korea (red, white, black, green and yellow) and created a delicious dish that is also beautiful to look at.

Cho Seo Young

Female 40y/o South Korea
Tsuji Culinary Institute

Yellowtail in beef net

I have made this a unique dish by using, as the base, teriyaki sauce which is well-known as a popular menu, and combining it with other Japanese ingredients, and cooking them with an even more modern, European culinary technique.

Daniele Codini

Male 27y/o Italy
Senior sous-chef at Yashin Ocean House

Tonyu-ShabuShabu

A hotpot of Seattle's finest seafood cooked in a soymilk-based stock and crowned with raw sea urchin wrapped in fresh soymilk skin.

Aaron L Pate

Male 39y/o USA
Sushi chef at Shiro's Sushi

Wagyu yuzu steak

A dish combining yuzu, which is Japan's leading citrus, and wagyu steak. Garnish it with yuzu pepper and yuzu jam for added fun.

Nasrul Awaludin

Male 34y/o Indonesia
Cook at Kappo Don

Applicant Eligibility

Cooks or cooking school students of non-Japanese nationality (regardless of current address).

Dish Entry Guidelines

Dishes must either be an original created by the applicant or by the restaurant establishment managed by the applicant (or where the applicant is employed). Restaurant employees wishing to apply for the Competition must obtain the permission of the owner or restaurant manager.
Applicants must apply with one a la carte dish (or one part of a course). Applicants may make up to three entries. ・Applicants may not enter a dish for this contest that has already won a prize in another contest.
Recipes entered in this Competition must be replicable by a third party, including ingredients and how much of each ingredient to use, the process of how to make the dish, and presentation.
Sweets, desserts, and drinks cannot be entered in the Competition.

Personal Information

Personal information noted in the Application Form is managed and controlled by the Washoku World Challenge 2015 Secretariat (Nikkei BP). This information is used only to the extent necessary to implement the competition, including: announcement of screening results, inquiries made to applicants, and contacting winning contestants, etc.

Explanation of our acquiring personal information

Publicizing of Dish Entries

Dishes entered by applicants will be shown on the Competition Website, in Competition pamphlets, etc. In addition, the Washoku World Challenge 2015 Secretariat reserves the right to use dish entries submitted by applicants in footage and publications featuring contest entries. Please note this when you apply.

Application Deadline

October 31, 2014 (Please note that applications will not be accepted after this date.)

Questions/inquiries

washoku-question@nikkeibp.co.jp



	Application Deadline

	Initial Screening: Documents Washoku specialists review the information contained in the Application Forms based on the Japaneseness, degree of perfection, and originality of the dishes, and the best will be selected for the actual competition after being replicated and taste-tested by the specialists based on the recipes.

	Competition The actual competition will be held in Kyoto on January 30, 2015. The Washoku World Challenge 2015 Secretariat pays travel and accommodation expenses for contestants. Contestants will be asked to make the dish that they described on their application, plus another specified dish (to be announced at a later date) to evaluate their basic skills in Washoku. Judges will evaluate the contestants based on their cooking skills and the degree of perfection of their dishes.

	Prize-Giving