Hassun and Presentation Workshop with Chef Mina Makimine
The Consulate-General of Japan and the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre held a seminar and workshop entitled "Special Event: Learn and Have Fun in Japanese - Learning Hassun and Presentation from Chef Mina Makimine" on Feb. 27 at the Official Residence of the Consulate-General of Japan in Toronto.
The seminar examined "the heart of Japanese cooking" through the presentation known in the tea cremony's kaiseki cuisine as hassun, which consists of artfully arranged ingredients from land and sea.
The colourful, three-dimensional presentation on the appetizer course plate makes the dining room table a radiant production. Explanation and demonstrations on five dishes were given in terms of their origin, preparation, and selection of utensils. Afterwards, the 20 participants enjoyed crafting their own hassun presentations as well as eating the food. There were also pointers given on selecting the ingredients and putting together a menu. Food trends with respect to Japanese cuisine were also discussed.
At the end of the seminar, Consul-General Tetsuo Yamashita explained how this event came as a result of numerous requests for an encore performance after Chef Makmine held a Japanese cooking demonstrarion in May 2010 at the JCCC. Then, as now, her sense of humour and warm personality were very well received by the participants.
