November, 2018

On behalf of the Tsuruoka City local government, our chef, Shōta Saito attended “Gastrónoma 2018” in Valencia, a harbor city located in the southeast of Spain. Shōta created several dishes fusing Western and Eastern cuisine under the theme of “Ruta de la Seda” or “Silk Road”. Through this event, Shōta interacted with chefs from all over the world and was able to further deepen his knowledge of both cutting-edge cooking methods and international cuisine.

February, 2017

As a representative of fresh, talented chefs in Tsuruoka, our chef, Ryōichi Saito was selected by the Tsuruoka City government to introduce Shōnai’s food culture to the city of Bilbao, the Basque capital in Spain. While there, Ryōichi experimented with arranging Shōnai cuisine with local ingredients, serving these dishes alongside Michelin-starred chefs. This experience gave Ryōichi the opportunity to become familiar with traditional Basque cuisine, and to learn more about the rich Basque food culture through interacting with his host chefs. Ryōichi also spent time cooking with local cooking school students in order to spread awareness of the wealth of Shōnai cuisine.