The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries will set up a system to certify chefs of Japanese cuisine, or washoku. The ministry announced a logo mark for the system on Wednesday, June 1.
The agriculture ministry announced logo marks for certified washoku chefs (above) and those who promote Japanese food items (below) abroad.
Washoku has recently been gaining popularity worldwide and was recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2013. However, there are cases in which chefs who have not received proper training on Japanese cooking serve food that are far apart from traditional washoku. The system is aimed at improving the quality of washoku chefs by certifying those who have acquired the basics of washoku cooking.
The certification is offered in three levels: bronze for those who have completed short-term sessions organized by Japanese cooking schools and other institutions; silver for those who have either graduated from Japanese cooking schools or worked for about a year at washoku restaurants in Japan headed by Japanese chefs; gold for those who have worked for about two years at Japanese restaurants in Japan headed by Japanese chefs.
The ministry also released a “Japanese Food Supporter” logo mark to be used by restaurants and retailers in foreign countries which promote food items produced in Japan.