Archive for December, 2008

It is always interesting to see how cultures assimilate, interpret and alter food from other cultures. A good example of this is Christmas food in Japan. Once, on spying in my local convenience store window a sign saying “We’re now taking orders for Christmas cakes”, I dropped in to check out what they had on offer, my mind filled with the image of my mother’s rich, curranty, liquor-drenched fruit cake. What they were actually selling, however, were sponge cakes with little plastic Santa figures on the top.

Although, I suppose, it’s perfectly reasonable to call a cake, made for Christmas, with little Santas and elves and reindeer balanced on top, a “Christmas cake”, it obviously wasn’t what I was expecting. In the same “Christmas Fayre” catalogue one could order all manner of “festive” food for a seasonal party – sandwiches, fried chicken, Christmas pizza…. So for someone who is used to, let’s say, a big turkey, Brussels sprouts, Christmas pudding, all the trimmings, the prospect of some sandwiches and a sponge cake just doesn’t really cut the mustard, as it were. But I guess it’s important to remember that just as my family Christmas dinner is not the quintessential Christmas dinner, so British Christmas traditions aren’t somehow inherently superior to Japanese Christmas traditions just because they’re older, or because they’re British. In fact, celebrating Christmas amongst a different culture can be a really fascinating experience, as I found, wearing a home-made tinsel halo, eating karaage , singing karaoke, very very early on Christmas morning.

Incidentally, “Christmas cake” used to be a slang word for unmarried women over 25 (think about it!). With the average age for a first marriage in Japan now standing at 28.3 for women, however, unsurprisingly it’s not a word that’s used anymore.

I think that the Japanese and the British are similar in many ways. Both countries are islands, separated, both geographically and psychologically, from their continental neighbours. Both have a reputation for being terribly polite. Both love social drinking. Both have constitutional monarchies. And both are, current financial crisis notwithstanding, global economic powerhouses. But there is one, very important difference which Japanese people are quick to point out to their British counterparts: whilst Japanese food is widely renowned as one of the healthiest, most delicious cuisines on the planet, British food is, well, not.

Once, on holiday in Spain, I was talking to a Japanese woman who had been travelling to Europe annually for a good ten years or so.

“Have you ever been to the UK?”, I inquired.
“Not yet, no,” she replied, looking sheepish.
“Any particular reason?”
“Well” – and here she covered her mouth and giggled – “I’ve heard that the food is…horrible”.
“Horrible?” I said, feigning shock. “That’s the first time I’ve ever heard anyone say that about British food.”
“Really?” she said, genuinely shocked.
“Well, I don’t suppose I can blame you,” I said. “I’ve never been to Japan either, because I hear the food is just awful”.

Now, obviously, I meant it as a joke, but I don’t think she got that, as she looked rather taken-aback and scurried off, never to speak to me again.

Anyway, this blog, in its renewed format, hopes to take an irreverent look at the delicious world of Japanese food, and its role and reputation in the UK and the rest of the world. Britain is showing more and more interest in issues such as sustainability, seasonal eating, and how diet can be a factor in maintaining health and wellbeing – and so it’s hardly surprising so much attention is being paid to the inspiration that Japanese food can provide.