Washoku World Challenge 2016

TOKYO, Japan, December 20, 2016 —On December 15 the final round of Washoku World Challenge 2016, a Japanese cooking contest for international chefs hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, was held in Tokyo.

Finalist Cheong Cherng Long (31 years old) from Malaysia won the crown of No. 1 overseas Japanese cuisine chef (Gold Prize). The Silver Prize was won by finalist Shaun Presland (45 years old) of Australia. The Bronze Prize was won by finalist Songkran Comnew (35 years old) of Thailand.

The Washoku World Challenge 2016 received entries for 205 dishes from 26 countries and regions (the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, Iran, India, Indonesia, Australia, South Korea, Singapore, Scotland, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Taiwan, China, Nepal, Pakistan, Hungary, the Philippines, Finland, France, Brazil, Vietnam, Belgium, Malaysia, Mexico, and Romania). After the entry deadline, the 23 dishes entered by the 20 candidates who passed the initial screening were recreated in Tokyo according to the recipes and judged on elements such as their understanding of washoku techniques, taste, appearance, originality, and viability in their home countries. From those 20 candidates, ten were selected to compete in the final round.

The 23 dishes that passed the initial screening, the dishes of the ten competitors who progressed to the final round, scenes of the final round and judging (videos), etc. can be viewed at the following URL.

The official web site: http://washoku-worldchallenge.jp/2016/