Japanese Wagyu beef as seen by a top chef
Japanese Wagyu beef, ingredient grabbing the world's attention
AC19 Executive Head Chef
Alex Craciun
Born in Romania, Alex worked under Jason Atherton for almost a decade in London. In 2014, his passion for learning and gaining new experience took him to Japan, where he worked at distinguished Michelin star restaurants, including RyuGin under Seiji Yamamoto.
Following his return to the UK, Alex worked to set up an award-winning Sosharu London with mentor Jason Atherton before going on to set up AC19, his very own East London Japanese-inspired popup and event catering company.
Japanese food culture and customs dazzle and change the world
What I like about the Japanese food culture is the respect given to the produce, and the passion of cooking one style of food and bringing that to a level of perfection - like tempura, noodles, sushi and so many more. This respect and passion are the reasons why you’ll find one of the best beef, best fish and best fruits in Japan.
In the UK, we have one of the most talented chefs in the world. These days, I’m increasingly convinced that the Japanese ways of focusing on the product and achieving a perfection in one area are here in the UK as well.
Japanese Wagyu beef, representative of Japanese food culture
Even in such Japanese food culture, I love Japanese Wagyu beef, I believe it is one of the best.
Because You can appreciate the flavour, texture and aroma, as well as the aesthetics in Japanese Wagyu.
In addition, you can incorporate Japanese Wagyu in any style of cooking form marinade, grilled, pan-fried, thinly sliced, thickly sliced, diced - the possibilities are unlimited.
It’s really important for me to showcase the quality of the product and make sure you bring out that fantastic texture, taste and visual impact from it.
Also, temperature control is critical with Japanese Wagyu because of the fantastic fat content (sashi).
Japanese Wagyu beef - new discoveries in every bite
When I serve my customers Japanese wagyu, it's quite simple what I want them to enjoy. They need to enjoy the discovery, as the enjoyment is different from dish to dish.
What I want for them is to eat the dish and go home thinking about it, and then to think about when they can return to the restaurant and have Japanese Wagyu again.
The flavour, texture, taste, aroma, marbling… there are so many elements in Japanese Wagyu that one can enjoy.