During these 2 first weeks of November and to be more specific from 1 to 14 November 2007 Akira Oshima, Executive Chef & Manager of the Okura’s Japanese restaurants, is presenting the annual culinary & cultural festival, during which a particular region in Japan is celebrated. Last year we enjoyed the specialties of the prefecture of Fukui.

This year’s chosen region is the prefecture of Mie, which is situated between the mountains and the sea and is home to a rich historical heritage. In particular, Mie offers a treasure trove of fresh delicacies. For this festival, Mr Akira Oshima has invited Mr Shigeru Maruta of hotel & restaurant Todaya Ryo-an from the Mie prefecture to prepare various dishes from Mie together. The festival period offers guests the opportunity to savour delicacies from this region of Japan. A special evening was organized on the 29th of November to present the Mie prefecture. The President & General Manager of Hotel Okura Amsterdam, Mr. Marcel van Aelst, introduced the Japanese guests while the Chef Akira Oshima presented the Mie menu.

Before tasting the coloured and creative buffet, the traditional sake ceremony took place. We could then enjoy the sake from Mie region drinking from a typical wooden square cup. Even Mie region can count a lot of different sorts of sake. Because Mie is situated on the Pacific, the local cuisine features a lot of seafood. The abalone and the esi-ebi, a kind of lobster, are particularly popular, as is Matsuzaka beef. In addition to its delicacies, the Mie prefecture is renowned for the Ise Shrine, a temple that attracts a lot of tourists and pilgrims every year.

The region is also famous for its Mikomoto pearls and is the foremost source of pearls in Japan. Mie’s Todaya Ryo-an is a small luxury hotel, which retains the characteristic atmosphere of Japanese culture. The Mie festival is an important one for Mr Oshima, as it is one of the ways in which he strives for his ideal, which is to give people in the Netherlands the opportunity to get to know Japanese food and culture a little better. Hotel Okura in Amsterdam is very popular for his two Japanese restaurants, the Yamazato and Teppanyaki Restaurant Sazanka.

Teppanyaki literally means ‘to grill on a hot plate’, which is traditionally the oldest way of preparing food in Japan. In this restaurant the cook prepares the most delicious dishes right before guests’ eyes. The traditional Japanese restaurant Yamazato serves traditional Japanese food. During this year presentation, thanks to the kind invitation of Mr. Marcel van Aelst, I had finally the opportunity to visit the champagne and cocktail bar Twenty Third on the 23rd floor of the Okura Hotel.

This classy and stylish place on the same floor of the Michelin restaurant Ciel Bleu opened his doors last summer and got already the 2007 Award for the Best Cocktail Bar in the Netherlands at the yearly edition of the Hospitality and Style Awards. In addition to a great view of Amsterdam, the Twenty Third bar offers an excellent hospitality, good service and a high-quality product range.

For more information: www.okura.nl

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