Japanese Embassy in Canberra starts its own online cooking show

The Embassy of Japan, for one, is mixing things up, especially in the kitchen. Its head chef Ogata Sadayuki is attracting quite the following by posting Japanese cooking tutorials on YouTube.

His Chef Kitchen series has been chugging along nicely, with the full support of Japan's ambassador to Australia Yamagami Shingo.

Mr Yamagami even wrote a report about the young chef, who is actually originally trained in French cuisine.

"What is impressive about him is that instead of deploring limited access to fresh seafood due to Canberra's landlocked location, Chef Ogata is working hard with a motto that he wants to fully utilise locally available ingredients and create dishes that satisfy Australian and other guests," the ambassador wrote.

In fact, Mr Yamagami revealed, Chef Ogata is out regularly "cycling energetically about Canberra searching out ingredients on his bike he bought upon arrival in Canberra".

A spokesman for the embassy said the YouTube series was another way for it to connect to the community.

"It was the chef's own initiative," the spokesman said. "He wants to share how one can easily make Japanese food and out of ingredients people can find at Coles or Woolworths."

The ambassador has been showing his support by tweeting the link to each episode. And Mr Yamagami has revealed the chef is integral to each diplomatic mission in Canberra, more than anyone might think.

"The three cornerstones of an ambassador's work are to build personal connections, to gather information, and to present Japanese perspectives to expand the support base for its position," he wrote.

"The most effective way to achieve these goals would be to invite guests whom we zeroed in on, entertain them with superb food and sake and have private and in-depth conversation in a space where guests would feel confident in not being eavesdropped on."

Bon Appetit!

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