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Harumi Kurihara (center) and co-host Daniel Kahl with Janice de Belen at the set of Your Japanese Kitchen. [Net 25]

The Philippine’s award-winning actress and SPOON host Janice de Belen is the first Filipino celebrity chef in “Your Japanese Kitchen” (YJK), NHK’s cooking show hosted by Japan’s top culinary expert, Harumi Kurihara.

The special SPOON episode shot in Meguro-ku, Japan last August 3, 2010 will be broadcast on NET 25 and NHK World TV, the English language TV service now viewed in 120 countries and regions via cable and satellite.

It will be aired on NET 25 on September 12, 2010.

Guests in “Your Japanese Kitchen” are usually foreigners living in Japan who bring interesting knowledge about a different cultural cuisine. With the SPOON production team behind her, Janice broke this trend. “Today, Janice has come directly from the Philippines to participate in “Your Japanese Kitchen”, Harumi’s co-host Daniel Kahl exclaimed.

Production flow and guide scripts were written in both English and Japanese characters. Nihongo was used as primary language in directing the show made more interesting by the presence of female camera operators whose recording were patched directly into NET 25’s full HD recorders.

Prior to the shooting, the two production teams hurdled the language and cultural barriers in barely four months of preparations and even managed to squeeze in a pre-production meeting with executives from NHK World TV, NHK Educational Corporation and Vector Inc., two days before the taping.
For her part, Harumi prepared a western style dish which originated in Japan called Ebikatsu Shrimp Cutlet, basically shrimp patties that can be eaten in small bites consumed with homemade Tartar sauce.

Janice de Belen did not fail to amaze Japan’s most popular cookery author with her own version of adobo with a twist. “It was a little bit different. Nice combination. I am so happy to learn from you,” Harumi told Janice, after savoring Janice’s recipe. Interestingly, Harumi cooks adobo whose assistant in her home studio happens to be a Filipina, a fan of Janice since her Flor de Luna days.

Breaking another YJK tradition of translating “sayorana” (goodbye) in the native language of the guest, Janice de Belen introduced a Filipino word to the show that flamboyantly answered how they felt about shooting the SPOON and YJK episode – “BONGGA!”