Japanese Cooking Workshop Held for Winners of the 31st “Concours Kikkoman”
November 12, 2025
Since 1994, Kikkoman Trading Europe GmbH (KTE), the Kikkoman Group’s sales and marketing company in Europe, has hosted the annual “Concours Kikkoman”, a cooking contest using Kikkoman Soy Sauce designed for young chefs across France. From a pool of eighty applicants, eight were selected through application screening, and two final winners were chosen through a strict culinary evaluation. As part of their prize, the winners visited Tokyo and Kyoto between September and October 2025 to experience Japanese food culture. The main events of the tour included a Japanese cooking workshop and a visit to the Kikkoman Soy Sauce Museum in Noda City, Chiba Prefecture.
The cooking workshop was held over two days in collaboration with Hattori Nutrition College, a prominent cooking school located in Shinjuku, Tokyo. On the first day, the chefs learned about various types of Japanese knives and sharpening techniques, followed by hands-on practice in vegetable cutting and fish filleting. Using the ingredients they prepared, they deep-fried tempura and prepared tendon (rice bowl featuring tempura), and learned how to blend and use Kikkoman tsuyu (soy sauce-based soups) and tare (soy sauce-based dipping and marinade sauces) to enhance flavor.
The lecture also covered how to prepare dashi, the essential broth of Japanese cuisine. Participants shaved katsuobushi (dried and smoked bonito) and combined it with kombu (kelp) to make dashi from scratch. The two winners who tried shaving katsuobushi said, “It looks easy, but it’s actually hard!” They tackled this unfamiliar task with determination and smiles.
The instructor also provided detailed explanations about the characteristics of our products, which enhance the flavor of the broth while bringing out the natural taste of the ingredients. The two winners learned the differences in culinary effects when using Kikkoman’s Extra Fancy Whole Soybean Soy Sauce and Light Nama Soy Sauce in blended dashi, tasting along the way.
On the second day, the chefs learned how to prepare fish for otsukuri (sashimi), and challenged themselves with nigiri sushi and chirashi sushi. In the afternoon, they studied the “golden ratios” of soy sauce, mirin, and dashi for different dishes, and applied this knowledge by cooking oyakodon (chicken and egg over rice), gyukatsudon (breaded beef cutlets), and sukiyaki (hot pot of thinly sliced beef, vegetables and tofu). They were surprised by the custom of dipping sukiyaki beef in raw egg, a unique experience outside their own culinary culture.
Reflecting on the workshop, the winners shared: “The most memorable part was deepening our understanding of Japan. Learning the techniques used in Japanese cuisine was especially valuable. These methods are quite simple, yet completely different from those used in French cooking, which made it all the more fascinating.”
KTE will continue to promote the international exchange of food culture through Kikkoman Soy Sauce and foster the growth of young chefs who will lead the future of gastronomy. We hope the workshop in Japan will further broaden the horizons of these promising culinary talents.
