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Contact A Taste of Culture
For General Information regarding A TASTE OF CULTURE, please click here.
A Taste of Culture: the Facility
A Taste of Culture is located in JAPAN, with teaching facilities in TOKYO and OSAKA. The current time in Japan is Tuesday 06:39 PM
classroom facilities in TOKYO:
Located in a residential corner of Tokyo's Setagaya Ward about 30 minutes from bustling mid-town Shibuya (10 minutes from Futako Tamagawa, on the Tama River), the facility can seat up to 12 people on chairs at (two) tables, and up to 8 people on zabuton cushions around low tables in two adjacent tatami-matted rooms. The kitchen, pantry, dining area and these tatami rooms are open and contiguous to provide a spacious L-shaped area. Shoes are removed at the genkan entry, and in the winter, heated wooden floors and a kotatsu table in the tatami-matted room provide additional warmth to standard room heating. During the summer, room air-conditioning provides a comfortable environment.
The kitchen is fully equipped to teach small groups how to prepare home-style washoku meals using a combination of classic (and rather old-fashioned) tools and modern equipment; the pantry is stocked with traditional foodstuffs.
When clear skies prevail, a view of Mt. Fuji is framed in the dining room's picture window.
classroom facilities in OSAKA:
Located in residential Sumiyoshi Ward, Osaka, about 20 minutes from lively Tennoji (30 minutes from bustling Namba) in mid-town Osaka, a quaint trolley with frequent and fully comfortable service runs from Tennoji to Hime Matsu. From there, a 2-minute walk brings you to A Taste of Culture's classroom facility.The island-kitchen and dining area are contiguous, opening on to a huge living room space fitted with heated flooring. The kitchen is fully equipped to teach small groups how to prepare home-style washoku meals using a combination of classic (and rather old-fashioned) tools and modern equipment; the walk-in pantry next to the stove is stocked with traditional foodstuffs.
Up to 16 people can be seated on chairs at (two) tables in this area. A small tatami-matted room is adjacent and contiguous to this large space and can seat an additional 4 people on zabuton cushions around a low table. Shoes are removed at the genkan entry, and in the winter, heated wooden floors provide additional warmth to standard room heating. During the summer, room air-conditioning provides a comfortable environment.
Elizabeth Andoh, Director & Instructor
Born and raised in America, Ms. Andoh's formal culinary training was taken at the Yanagihara Kinsaryu School of Traditional Japanese Cuisine, in Tokyo. Ms. Andoh is a writer, lecturer, and a business consultant, specializing in Japanese food and culture. She is a member of the International Association of Cooking Professionals (IACP) and the only non-Japanese member of the prestigious Japan Food Journalists Association (JFJ).
She has written numerous magazine and newspaper articles for American publications such as Gourmet and The New York Times and authored several cookbooks, most recently WASHOKU: Recipes from the Japanese Home Kitchen, winner of a 2006 Jane Grigson award for "distinguished scholarship" and nominated for a James Beard award in the category of International Cookbook.
As a lecturer on historical and cultural aspects of Japanese society and cuisine, Ms. Andoh speaks frequently to business and general-interest audiences on both sides of the Pacific.
As a consultant, Ms. Andoh provides the U.S./ Japan business community with a wide range of marketing, training, and support services; most of her clients are in the foodservice and hospitality industries.
For encouraging visitors to Japan to explore the indigenous food culture, Ms. Andoh was recently designated as a Yokoso Japan Taishi ようこそ・ジャパン大使 ("ambassador") by the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (国土交通省Kokudo Kotsusho, abbreviated MLIT).
Ms. Andoh resides in Japan, and travels to North America several times a year. To inquire about, and arrange for speaking engagements, programs, and other culinary events with her, send an e-mail message to Elizabeth Andoh.
When making inquiries, please provide complete contact information for yourself. Briefly describe your organization or group, including the occasion or event at which Ms. Andoh would be making a presentation. Please also indicate the dates of the program you wish to schedule.
Melinda Joe, author of the sake and wine blog Tokyo through the Drinking Glass and bar editor for the Tokyo Food Page (www.bento.com), has studied closely with sake master John Gauntner. She also holds a wine professional certification from the internationally recognized Wine and Spirits Education Trust.