Latest news with #YumiAsada
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Popular Japanese beef bowl chain shuts after rat, bug found in food
A popular Japanese restaurant chain has closed nearly all of its 2,000 stores for cleaning this week, after a rat and a bug were found in its food. Sukiya, the country's largest chain serving gyudon, or beef bowls, announced the temporary closures following an insect contamination incident at one of its suburban Tokyo locations on Friday. This came just weeks after a rat was found in a bowl of miso soup in late January in an outlet in Tottori, western Japan. Apologizing for the 'great inconvenience and concern caused,' Sukiya said in a Saturday statement that most of its branches will shut from March 31 to April 4 to address contamination problems and pest infestations. To calm growing anger over the food safety incidents, Sukiya took to X on Monday to offer its 'deepest apologies' again. 'We take this situation seriously and sincerely,' it said. 'We will do our utmost to maintain a safe and clean environment.' Following the incidents, both affected locations temporarily shut down to carry out extermination work and inspections. Despite an image of a rat in a bowl of miso soup circulating widely on social media for weeks since January, Sukiya did not confirm the incident until late March. In a separate statement on March 22, it said it would 'thoroughly review and implement further measures to prevent pest and rodent entry.' The statement attributed the mishap to an employee failing to look at the miso soup before serving and said no other customers were affected. Following the latest contamination incident on Friday in Tokyo, Sukiya said the affected customer had received a refund. It is conducting an on-site investigation to determine the cause. As of early 2024, Sukiya operates 1,957 stores domestically and has 675 foreign branches, including in China, Taiwan, Thailand and Brazil, according to its latest annual report. Yoshinoya, another popular beef bowl chain with outlets in Japan and abroad, is the second largest chain with 1,259 stores in the country. Zensho Holdings owns Sukiya, and runs multiple other Japanese and international restaurant brands. CNN's Minori Konishi and Yumi Asada contributed reporting.
Yahoo
27-01-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Japan defeats France to win the Pastry World Cup
It's a matter of national pride, with carefully chosen teams spending years training in pursuit of winning the highest honor in their fields and representing their country on the global stage. No, not the soccer World Cup. The Pastry World Cup. The biennial event features contestants from as far afield as Egypt, Mauritius and South Korea in a sweet showdown where teams compete to create the best once-in-a-lifetime desserts. This year's competition took place on January 20 and 21. Each team had three members — specialists in chocolate, ice, and sugar respectively. The trios were tasked with developing three desserts that would represent their country: a frozen dessert, a restaurant dessert — which can have a special garnish added at the judging table — and a show chocolate. And they only had five hours to pull it all off. The pastry chefs relied on both ingredients and designs to highlight their countries' culinary delights. The Chinese team put together an elaborate dragon made of sugar, while Mexico's competitors incorporated chocolate, corn and other native foods into their desserts. In addition to representing their homelands on plates, competitors wore themed outfits and accessories. France's team members sported chic Breton striped shirts and berets, Mexico's chefs wore Day of the Dead sugar skull-inspired masks, and Team UK worked on their desserts while wearing natty newsboy caps and bow ties. Although the 2025 event was held in Lyon, the French team did not win the gold medal, settling for silver. Top honors went to returning champions Japan, whose team put together a lemon, pear, marigold and chocolate granita in the shape of an Asanoha (hemp) leaf for their restaurant dessert entry. For the frozen dessert, the team offered an apricot treat resembling a spinning top toy. 'We packed the history and culture of Japan into the design. We were able to incorporate taste and delicate traditional patterns to showcase our techniques,' said chef Masanori Hata, the chocolate expert on his team. 'I don't remember the moment we won. I was so surprised and couldn't believe it. Japan was recognized two tournaments in a row. I'm happy and proud.' Meanwhile, the French team prepared a showstopping series of chocolate eggs that were filled with chocolate-hazelnut soufflé mousse topped with chocolate streusel, dipped in a citrus-vanilla-infused clarified butter and paired with grilled vanilla ice cream and a clementine confit. Bronze went to Malaysia, the Southeast Asian country's highest-ever result in the contest. Team Malaysia scored high marks for its frozen dessert, which they described as 'a harmonious blend of bright citrus, sweet apricot, and subtle spices,' a nod to the country's multicultural heritage. Japan France Malaysia China Belgium Italy South Korea Singapore United Kingdom Argentina Editor's Note: CNN's Yumi Asada contributed reporting.
