Gurunavi Research Institute has announced "One dish of the year" to select the "food" that symbolizes the year. This year, which is the first time to be held, "Gibier cuisine" was selected as one dish in 2014. In addition, "high-class shaved ice" was selected as the "food style of the year" and "eel" was selected as the "ingredient of the year".

2014 "One dish of the year" is "Gibier cuisine" (Image: "Ezo fawn stewed in red wine" served at the recital)
2014 "One dish of the year" is "Gibier cuisine" (Image: "Ezo fawn stewed in red wine" served at the recital)

"One dish of the year" extracts the keyword of "food" that became a hot topic in the year through data in the restaurant information site "GourNavi" and questionnaires to members, and experts including media personnel. It will be decided after the examination by. It was planned because "Japanese food" was registered as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2013.

◆ 2014 dish "Gibier cuisine"

Jibie is a French word that refers to edible wild birds and beasts such as deer and wild boar. It is a "winter feast" that has been popular as a special dish in Europe for a long time. Although it was not very familiar in Japan, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare provided guidelines on hygiene management and cooking methods, and the service at restaurants began in earnest (Beckers " Shinshu Jibie Venison Burger " etc.). In fact, in Gurunavi, the number of stores containing the word "jibie" has doubled from the same period last year, and the number of searches for "jibie" in Gurunavi has increased more than 3.6 times.

"Shinshu Jibie venison burger" using venison from Nagano prefecture
"Shinshu Jibie venison burger" using venison from Nagano prefecture

2014 is the first year of Jibie, which has rapidly penetrated among consumers, with venison being used in convenience stores and fast food. As the damage to agricultural products caused by wild birds and beasts is becoming more serious, it is expected that the effective use of captured birds and beasts will lead to the birth of new businesses and regional development. Considering that it is expected to spread in the future, it was selected as "one dish of the year" as the birth of a new Japanese food culture.

◆ 2014 food flow "luxury shaved ice"

For "Food flow of this year", representative food trends that became a big topic in the world in that year are selected.

In 2014, "High-class shaved ice" was selected as a food stream with a wide variety of products such as raw fruits, syrup made from natural materials, and liqueurs. The number of searches in Gurunavi is said to have increased to about 700% of the previous year. Specialty stores selling shaved ice all year round have opened one after another (Roppongi " yelo " etc.), and unique shaved ice has been released at existing stores (MAMANO " Chocolate Snow Mountain ", Tsukada Farm " Mizore Yamazaki " etc.), 1,000 The situation surrounding shaved ice has changed drastically, with lines forming on the shaved ice that crosses the circle and the shaved ice itself becoming the purpose of visiting the store.

Tsukada Farm "Sleet Yamazaki"
Tsukada Farm "Sleet Yamazaki"

In addition, "natural ice", which is a material for shaved ice, was also attracting attention, so it seems that the reason for the selection was the great significance of the craftsmanship and culture that have been handed down from ancient times.

◆ 2014 ingredients "eel"

"Ingredients of the year" are selected as the ingredients that attracted a great deal of attention that year and brought new values to the food culture. In 2014, "eel" was selected.

Toward a future where you can continue to eat eel (image is an image)
Toward a future where you can continue to eat eel (image is an image)

Regarding eels, the big news was that the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) designated Japanese eels as an endangered species. It used to be a high-class food, but due to "price destruction", it has become edible by ordinary people, and the catch of juvenile Japanese eels (glass eels) used for aquaculture is decreasing.

Katsumi Tsukamoto (Department of Marine Bioresource Sciences, College of Bioresource Sciences, Nihon University), a world-famous eel researcher, warns that "consumers must change their consciousness." Stop overfishing and go to "a feast to taste slowly". It was selected as an ingredient for this year with the desire to "protect and develop this wonderful food culture to future generations."

Japanese eels are far away and spawn off the Mariana Islands
Japanese eels are far away and spawn off the Mariana Islands

"I want you to use this announcement as an opportunity to look back on the food of the year," said Kundō Koyama, the creator of the project (Director of Gurunavi Research Institute). He added, "I hope that it will be an opportunity for Japanese food to spread overseas, just as Paris Fashion Week will spread the fashion trend to the world, and that it will lead to the memory of food as a culture."

Japanese cuisine, which has excellent ingredients and cooking techniques, is attracting more attention than ever before, triggered by the registration of "Japanese food" as a World Heritage Site. "Food" that you will definitely face every day. What kind of meal do you remember when you look back on 5, 10, 20, and 2014?