Ciencias

Learning Chopsticks

In the west, as well as in Asia, tastes and dining etiquette are changing. “There is more understanding of different cuisines and cultures”, says Alan Yau, the innovative and successful founder of the Wagamama chain of Asian noodle restaurants in The UK. “But people still don’t understand etiquette very well. For example, in one of my Thai restaurants, Western dinners insist on using chopsticks. They don’t want to eat the Thai way, just with fork and spoon”, says Yau, “so we give them chopsticks. Then Thai people say we are not a real Thai restaurant because we provide chopsticks.” Hugues Jaquier, general manager of London’s exclusive Hotel Sofitel St James and Brasserie Roux, believes people are only beginning to understand other cultures. He is shocked when customers put ketchup on a traditional French dish, or when US guests insist on drinking coffee with their meals.
The Japanese are leading other Asian cultures in adapting their own traditions. “When Noboyuki Matsuhisa launched the Nobu restaurants in the USA, he quickly learned what Americans like” says Laura Holland, translator of the successful Nobu cookbook. For example, at the beginning Nobu disliked seeing diners pour lots of sauce on their rice and sushi, but then he accepted and he even developed a special mix for customers to pour. “On the other hand, in Japan, the more sophisticated, restaurant-going crowd are very open to different styles and trends,” says Holland. The ‘Japanisation’ of Western food and etiquette began many years ago. In Tokyo’s chic Ginza district, for example, an Italo-Japanese restaurant called Chop Stick serves innovative Italian food that people can eat with chopsticks. Financial