The Best Cooking is the Least Cooking

Freelance journalist, Shirley BOOTH

Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries recenty created a new award for people living in foreign countries who contribute to the popularization of Japanese food and ingredients, the name of which is "Award for Overseas Promotion of Japanese Food." The first award presentation ceremony was held on Wednesday, May 31st at the Hotel New Otani Tokyo. English freelance journalist Shirley BOOTH was one of the three winners.

"If I compare Japanese food with Italian food, they both rely on fresh ingredients and the natural tastes of the fresh ingredients. So when you eat Japanese food, you know what you are eating. A fish looks like a fish, an aubergine looks like an aubergine and a pepper looks like a pepper. The Japanese say 'the best cooking is the least cooking.' So the role of the chef is simply to bring out the natural taste of the ingredients. Indian, Chinese, French; they are all adding something new - something is done to the food. That's the difference. Italian food is similar to Japanese. It's very simple," Shirley said enthusiastically.

"Just imagine 'Horenso no Goma ae' (boiled spinach dressed in a sesame sauce). You could not do that with frozen spinach. We have to have good fresh ingredients. That's the main point of Japanese cuisine. And recently people in England are becoming more interested in traditional Japanese cooking.

Shirley first came to Japan in 1978 as a film editor. "I fancied an adventure and my decision to go to Japan would shape my whole life." Living in Tokyo, she made documentaries about Japanese life and culture. "Of course, I had to eat every day in Japan. So Japanese food became my next adventure, and the inspiration for my first award-winning documentary."

In 1987 she received the 'Jury Special Prize' (1st Category) in the Uni-Japan Films on "31st Competition for Films and Videos on Japan" for her documentary 'Japan: Food For The Spirit.' It shows the importance of traditional food and its relationship to nature in Japanese culture, and was broadcast worldwide.

Shirley became more interested in the relationship between food and spirituality, and studied 'shojin ryori,' Zen Vegetarian Cuisine, at a Buddhist temple "Sanko-in" (in Tokyo). She also started a good friendship with a Buddhist priest who belongs to the "Daitoin" temple (Chiba) and his wife KIMURA Hitomi. She visited them and cooked with the wife at weekends. In the spring she picked wild herbs from the hedgerows, and in autumn gathered ginko nuts from the trees. Hitomi deeply appreciated Shirley's wonderful skills at cooking 'shojin ryori,' and encouraged by Hitomi, Shirley set up classes to teach Zen vegetarian cooking to both westerners and Japanese.

Shirley is also author of the Award-Winning 'Food of Japan' (1999) in which she introduces various aspects of Japanese food such as cultural background, and the spiritual aspect of cooking along with over 200 recipes. In 2004, Shirley edited and wrote the introduction to 'Harumi's Japanese Cooking' written by the well-known Japanese TV chef KURIHARA Harumi, which also won a prize at the World Cookbook Awards in 2005.

"In Japan, you have a high regard for the seasons. In spring, you decorate food with cherry blossoms. In autumn, you use ‘matsutake' (a kind of mushroom). As the season for each ingredient is very short, you really cherish them. Japanese peoples' attitude to food is very lovely, very seasonable. My message to British people is to use local produces such as spinach, asparagus, carrots, potatoes, but cook them in the Japanese way (use the freshness of the ingredients and its natural taste) combined with Japanese seasoning to make an authentic Japanese taste."

Shirley is currently developing a series of instructional DVDs about Japanese cooking, and is looking for sponsors for these projects.

Shirley Booth's website
www.shirleybooth.co.uk

Back to List Page