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Japanese Chef Honored as Best In-Flight Meal Chef
(Korea Times Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) By Kim Rahn
What would you choose among ``lobster with fish eggs sauce,'' ``fresh-water fish with mushroom sauce,'' and ``chicken with miso (Japanese bean paste) sauce?''
The airline industry people's choice was, surprisingly, the chicken dish that cost only $3.22.
A Japanese cook who made the chicken food was selected as the best in-flight meal chef at the International Flight Services Association (IFSA) Best Chef Competition held in Cheju Island last Thursday.
The competition was a side event of the IFSA Global Leadership Conference Asia-Pacific, an international conference on in-flight service organized by Korean Air, Asiana Airlines, CJ and Amore Pacific Sept. 20-22.
Masaru Morita from TFK, an in-flight meal subsidiary of Japan Airlines, was honored as the best chef at the first competition.
The 41-year-old chef presented the chicken dish. The main ingredient _ chicken _ did not seem attractive at a glance compared to the other two sumptuous competitors, lobster with fish egg sauce and fish with mushroom sauce.
But rather than awarding the prize to a luxurious dish, judges gave top grades to Morita's food that is quick and easy to prepare as an in-flight meal and also has a rich taste.
``Besides taste, in-flight meals should be easy to cook, as they are served to passengers in a limited space. The economic aspect is also important because the price of oil is very high these days,'' Morita said.
``I tried to give an international touch to the food for international passengers and take taste and economic aspects into consideration. I believe judges highly evaluated those points,'' he said.
Morita added the secret of the food was in the sauce, a mixture of miso and ground black beans.
The veteran chef, who has 22 years of in-flight cooking experience since entering TFK in 1984, has also won awards at the international ice sculpture competition in 2002 and 2003.
``Despite the language barrier, I can communicate with passengers from different countries through my food. I always do my best to make passengers happy with my in-flight meals,'' Morita said.
To achieve this goal, he believes ceaseless study and efforts are essential in making in-flight meals.
``I took part in a cooking education course in Paris for four month in 1998, through which I was able to upgrade my ability. I also try to exchange information and learn skills at international meetings and seminars, like this one,'' he said.
Regarding his long-standing career as an in-flight chef, Morita said in-flight meals are attractive as they provide the biggest pleasure to passengers who have to travel in an enclosed space.
``I make food in the belief that it can determine whether each passenger can travel pleasantly or not. I'd like to develop popular in-flight meals that people from all around the world can enjoy,'' he said.
Copyright 2006 Korea Times. Source: Financial Times Information Limited.
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