Food symposium

　On January 25, the embassy invited Mr. Kimio Nonaga, owner and chef of “Nihonbashi Yukari” and Ms. Maki Yamamoto, cultural coordinator, who held a food symposium co-organized with Eurovision at the Japan Information and Cultural Centre. It was entirely devoted to giving a thorough introduction to Japanese food. After Ambassador Ishii’s greeting and a keynote speech, chef Nonaga held a demonstration of Japanese food followed by presentations and a panel discussion by both Japanese and Belgian famous chefs and culinary experts. The participants, including culinary professionals and journalists, were listening enthusiastically and taking notes while listening to explains about the various differences of dashi and food arrangement. Afterwards, the event moved to the nearby Kokuban restaurant where a workshop was held. Later that evening, a reception was held in the Embassy as well. At the beginning of the symposium, the workshop and the reception, a demonstration was held by the tea ceremony performance group “Kanae Japan”.