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[title]‘The future of sake is not washoku (Japanese cuisine),’ says sake consultant, lecturer and writer Sebastian Lemoine to the group of us who had gathered in a bright and airy classroom of Le Cordon Bleu Tokyo to learn about sake. ‘It’s the food being prepared in homes all over the world: Indian food, Thai food, Italian food... For each of these cuisines, we can find a match in sake.’
Although sake is inextricably linked to Japan and Japanese cuisine, the focus of Le Cordon Bleu’s Hiroshima Sake and Cheese Pairing Seminar was to demonstrate how the beverage is an ideal match for cuisines other than Japanese. And in this case, sake from the Hiroshima region and European cheese. ‘In general, sake is an excellent pairing for food; it has no tannins, it’s rich in organic acids that bring out the umami of food, and it has a lower acidity than wine,’ Sebastian explains.
The seminar, held on Saturday, March 9, at the Daikanyama school, was the third in a series of sake workshops held by the long-standing culinary institution. As part of a larger move to promote authentic Japanese cuisine and food culture through education, Le Cordon Bleu Tokyo now offers a full diploma in washoku, integrates wagashi (traditional Japanese sweets) into its Diploma of Patisserie, and is continuously expanding its public program of short courses and workshops.
Before launching into the pairings, we were taught the technique for sake appreciation. This includes observing the colour of the sake, taking in the aroma, noting how the sake feels in our mouth, and looking for an array of different flavours in the taste, like melon, pineapple, mint, butter, rice, walnut and caramel.
Each cheese and sake pairing of that day was unique and insightful. Fromage frais, a creamy and light fresh cheese similar to yoghurt, was paired with the fruity Ichidai Aimisen sake – it’s ‘like putting some fresh ripe pineapple into the cheese,’ says Sebastian. Roquefort, although an infamously difficult cheese to pair even with wine, has its tanginess successfully tamed by an aged, sweet Hakuko Yondan Jikomi Junami Label Rouge.
We also enjoyed the pairing of the full-bodied and powerful Kamoizumi Zoka Junmaishu sake with a house-smoked cheddar; both strong personalities complement each other, especially when the sake was served slightly warm. Sebastian further explained that adjusting the temperature is a very easy way to change the umami and flavour profile of a sake. Little anecdotes and nuggets of information such as this were peppered throughout the session – and when learnt in an experiential context rather than a textbook, are infinitely easier to understand.
Le Cordon Bleu’s next sake workshop, Sake Basic, will be held on July 20, 2019. If you’re keen to get a new appreciation on sake and Japanese cuisine, and have a bit of fun doing it, check out the institute’s website for more details.