First recipe contest featuring maple products for professional chefs in Japan
- And the winners are…

LONGUEUIL, QC, Oct 6 /CNW Telbec/ - This past spring, the Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers (FPAQ) organized the first-ever recipe contest in Japan where the star ingredient was maple. Aimed at professional chefs, the contest was dubbed "Maple Discovery - The First New Recipe Contest Using Maple Products" and was divided into three categories: Western Cuisine, Chinese Cuisine and Japanese Cuisine. The six winners (three Grand Prizes and three Second Prizes) were announced on October 2 at a ceremony at the Westin Tokyo. The contest was held on behalf of the Canadian maple syrup industry with the financial support of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

Sixteen finalists, selected by the jury from among 210 participants, prepared their maple creations as part of the event. And the winners are:

Cuisine	Prize	Name	Establishment	City
Western	Grand Prize	Naoki Kiguchi	Ginza La Tour	Tokyo
	Second Prize	Atsushi Uno	Hotel New Otani	Tokyo
Chinese	Grand Prize	Kazumasa Sotome	Mandarin Oriental Tokyo	Tokyo
	Second Prize	Shigeyoshi Hata	The Imperial Hotel Osaka	Osaka
Japanese	Grand Prize	Toru Tayasu	JR Tower Hotel Nikko Sapporo	Hokkaido
	Second Prize	Hideki Ohno	Kansai In-Flight Catering	Osaka

The three Grand Prize recipients won a trip to Quebec in March to learn more about how maple syrup is made and to explore the Maple Gourmet Road. The Second Prize winners received ¥250,000 each (about C$3,000).

Mr. Naoki Kiguchi wowed the judges, in Western Cuisine, with his "Canadian Lobster with Citrus Jelly, Maple Composition." Mr. Kazumasa Sotome won the Chinese Cuisine category with a "Duo of Lacquered Duck and Foie Gras with Maple Extract, Fried Taro and Two Kinds of Soy" and Mr. Toru Tayasu's winning dish was his "Study of Fine Canadian Maple" in Japanese Cuisine category. Please communicate with FPAQ to get a copy of the high resolution photos.

Under Honorary President Jacques Borie, a culinary consultant and the first chef to be awarded three Michelin stars in Japan, the panel included Mr. Hiroshi Yamaguchi, chef-owner of numerous restaurants in Japan and Ambassador of Canadian Maple; Mr. Takashi Tanaka, executive chef of Shinkyo-tei restaurant; Mr. Kazuo Yamanaka, executive chef of Kogetu restaurant; Mr. Mastaka Kamiya, chef-owner of Kamiya restaurant; and Mr. Sadaharu Nakajima, chef-owner of Nakajima restaurant. Ms. Yoko Arimoto, the spokesperson for Canadian maple in Japan, also served as a guest judge.

For Serge Beaulieu, president of the FPAQ and member of the Canadian maple industry advisory committee, "It's important to introduce Canadian maple products and to encourage their adoption in a country as influential on the food scene as Japan is. The greatest chefs in the world all have their eye on Tokyo, the gastronomic capital with the most Michelin Guide stars in 2009, and we are delighted that these chefs are interested in maple."

The criteria used to judge the contest were the use of Canadian maple products, mastery of culinary techniques, originality in developing a recipe and presenting the food, the taste of the dish and the chef's overall presentation.

About the FPAQ
The Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers was founded in 1966 with the mission of defending and promoting the economic, social and moral interests of its 7,400 maple businesses, all working together to collectively market their products. The quality of their work and their products has made Quebec the producer of close to 80% of today's global maple syrup output.

On behalf of the Canadian Maple Industry Advisory Committee, the FPAQ establishes the International Generic Maple Syrup Marketing Strategy, for which it receives financial support from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's AgriMarketing Program.

/NOTE TO PHOTO EDITORS: A photo accompanying this release is available at http://photos.newswire.ca. Images are free to accredited members of the media/

For further information:

Source:
Johannie Coiteux
Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers
Phone: [phone] ext. 8609
[email protected]