The 23rd TOKYU HOTELS Cooking Contest Finals were held
Eight hotels from 35 hotels nationwide will advance to the finals, and the grand prize winner will be decided!

TOKYU HOTELS & RESORTS CO., LTD. (Shibuya Ward, Tokyo; President and CEO Jun Murai) held the finals of the 23rd TOKYU HOTELS Cooking Contest at THE YOKOHAMA BAY HOTEL TOKYU on March 26th. Qualifying competitions had been held in advance, with 35 hotels from around the country divided into four blocks, and on the day of the competition, finalists from eight hotels who had made it through the qualifying rounds competed in the showdown to decide the Grand Prix winner.

The TOKYU HOTELS Cooking Contest is held every year with the main goal of improving the skills and mindset of the next generation of cooking staff and creating opportunities for growth. A new theme is set for this year's contest, which was to use roast pork as the theme ingredient, to come up with a garnish, sauce and cooking method that would utilize it to develop a main dish to be sold in hotels across the country. The judging criteria were taste, how the pork was used, product appeal, appearance, theme of the dish and completeness of the dish. In the final competition, the contestants' cooking and cleaning up in the kitchen were broadcast to the judging venue, and after the tasting evaluation, the contestants presented their creations to the judges.

After a rigorous judging process, the Grand Prize went to Yoshiyuki Ogata CERULEAN TOWER TOKYU HOTEL, the runner-up Mizumoto Yusuke KYOTO TOKYU HOTEL, and the judges' special award went to OSAKA EXCEL HOTEL TOKYU Tokyu. Each finalist was awarded a certificate of commendation, a bonus of financial support for culinary training and restaurant inspections, and each finalist was given a paring knife engraved with their name to use in their future work. At the award ceremony, Grand Prize winner Ogata of CERULEAN TOWER TOKYU HOTEL first expressed his gratitude to his team for creating an environment in which he could concentrate on the competition, and said of his creation, "I put the guests who would be eating the dish first and foremost, and cooked with the feeling that I was serving it to my precious family."

Our company president, Murai, commented that the theme of this year's competition was "processed roast pork," a new ingredient that had never been used before, and that the challenge was to find ways to add value to this ingredient. He praised the fact that each entry stood out not only in terms of taste, but also in terms of its individuality. He also stated that the fact that the judging criteria for this competition included the process, efficiency, and time required, from preparation to cleanup, will lead to further improvements in the safety and efficiency of our company's cooking.

In November of last year, we held our first "Cocktail Competition" for bartenders, and in February of this year, we held our first "Restaurant Service Contest" for food and beverage staff. We will continue to create dining spaces that combine food, beverages, and service, and promote our company's vision of "TOKYU HOTELS for Food." We will also place greater emphasis on human resource development, linking the career development and skill development of each employee to increased customer satisfaction.

In addition to the "TOKYU BRAND HOTELS" that include THE CAPITOL HOTEL TOKYU, TOKYU HOTEL, TOKYU RESORT HOTELS, EXCEL HOTEL TOKYU, and Tokyu REI Hotel, the company operates "DISTINCTIVE SELECTION," which is made up of hotels with unique personalities such as BELLUSTAR TOKYO and STREAM HOTEL, "Hotel Condominium" STORYLINE, and "MEMBERSHIP-TYPE RESORT "TOKYU VACATIONS nationwide (61 locations in Japan, 6 other locations in Japan, and 3 "PARTNER HOTELS" overseas).