Kaiseki just won't do

[taxatty]

8 minutes ago, KeepCalmBearOn said:

 

Teppanyaki is and is not "authentic" Japanese food. Teppanyaki started immediately post WWII and it featured mostly Western foods like beef, which was not common in Japan at that time. The first teppan restaurant was Misono in Kobe and the reasons were practical. The city of Kobe was largely in ruins and Shigeji Fujioka, the owner of Misono, could seat the guests around the grill, take their orders and cook. It required less space and fewer people.

 

Fujioka discovered that while Japanese people weren't overly impressed with his cooking, Westerners were. The more he cooked with flair, the more popular Misono became with tourists and Westerners. 80 years later you can still eat teppanyaki at Misono in Kobe only now it is on the 7th and 8th floors of a glass office building, owned by Misono, and they have 4 other restaurants.

 

Rocky Aoki was born in Japan but came to the U.S. to go to college on a wrestling scholarship. He knew of the teppanyaki concept and opened a four table teppanyaki restaurant in NYC he named Benihana. He struggled at first, but I think we all know the rest of the story with dozens of Benihana restaurants all over the U.S., Canada and other countries.

 

So back to my original statement, teppanyaki is and is not "authentic" Japanese food. Yes it originated in Japan, but it isn't a food with centuries of tradition in Japan like noodles in Japan and China.

Thanks for the background story--very interesting. As a bottom-line, Teppanyaki done right can be delicious, quality food--that's all I really care about, authenticity notwithstanding. 

[drron29]

Though many other cuisines have been adopted by Japan and become accepted by the Japanese people.It first appeared in Japan in the mid 19th century. became more popular in the 1920s and even more popular in the post WW2 years but really taking off in the 1990s.

 

Pizza was a later edition and basically began post WW2. Like many European cuisines it stated to climb in popularity in the 70's. This was because Japan relaxed it's foreign investment laws in 1969 and western chains began setting up making the food cheaper. Pizza restaurants now are very popular with the locals.

Unlike Teppanyaki these cuisines did not originate in Japan but are accepted by the Japanese today as being part of the Japanese taste for convenient and cheaper foods.

 

 

[bohaiboy]

15 hours ago, jgmc said:

In Kaiseki on the Muse, they cook in front of you on the heated grills, thus the food is more authentic and delicious.  I will not eat in Kaiseki on any of the other ships that cook in the kitchen.

 

I grew up in Alabama, near Selma, RTR.  Regarless, even on the Muse if the food is prepared in front of you, all of it was previously frozen.  The cod stunk up the entire hallway in addition to the restaurant.

[mieu]

16 hours ago, jgmc said:

In Kaiseki on the Muse, they cook in front of you on the heated grills, thus the food is more authentic and delicious.  I will not eat in Kaiseki on any of the other ships that cook in the kitchen.

 

Preparing food on heated grills does not insure Japanese authenticity.

[KeepCalmBearOn]

On 3/27/2024 at 7:27 AM, canderson said:

I think I may have mentioned this a long time ago, but Kaiseki seems a very ill chosen name for these restaurants. Kaiseki implies a very special style of Japanese cuisine, 

 

On 9/5/2024 at 12:24 PM, pavementends said:

I am OK with using the name Kaiseki for some sort of Asian-influenced restaurant. 

 

I agree with canderson Kaiseki is a very ill chosen name since Kaiseki implies a very special style of Japanese cuisine.

 

It would be like naming an Italian-influenced restaurant "Pizza" and then not serving any pizza (sort of).