Winners of National Shoku-no-Koshien Contest Sell Ume Burger at Hawaii Festival

Three new graduates of Kashima High School (located in Tanabe City) participated in Hawaii's Honolulu Festival, where they sold hamburgers that they created using ume and other local ingredients.

The three participants, who learned about product development in their business administration class, were Matsushita Ayaka (18), Iwasaki Chikako (18) and Koike Tsukiu (18). During their senior year, their hamburger recipe took top prize in a national cooking contest jointly sponsored by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forests, and Fisheries and the National Shoku-no-Koshien Association. The win allowed them to participate in Honolulu Festival.

The dish they chose to sell was titled "Kishu ume-dori chicken and egg burger featuring tartar sauce made with crisp ume." They used crunchy pickled Nanko ume plums to promote Wakayama Prefecture's local products.

Honolulu Festival is an event held with the purpose of allowing cultural exchange between Japan and Hawaii. The hamburgers were sold in the Shirogiya Japan Village Walk Food Court alongside many other Japanese delicacies. Only 50 hamburgers were available daily. They were prepared by a local chef who was assisted by the three students.

"I didn't really expect that foreigners would eat [the hamburgers]. I'm really glad that they not only ate it but said they liked it too. I want this to be an opportunity for Nanko ume to be more widely known by foreigners," said Ms. Matsushita.

Hamburgers based on this recipe were available in Family Marts and Circle K Sunkus convenience stores around the country in February and were well received.

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