KORIYAMA, Fukushima Prefecture--Bourgogne-style stew and pudding were on the menu for some lucky evacuees at makeshift shelters in this city these past few days, as a team of French chefs has been making the rounds to serve hot meals.
KORIYAMA, Fukushima Prefecture--Bourgogne-style stew and pudding were on the menu for some lucky evacuees at makeshift shelters in this city these past few days, as a team of French chefs has been making the rounds to serve hot meals.
Since last Sunday, 14 chefs from such big-name eateries in Tokyo and Osaka as La Tour d'Argent and L'osier, have taken turns in pairs to serve those who have fled with practically only their clothes on their backs from the prefecture's coastal area, where a nuclear power plant accident continues to contaminate surrounding municipalities.
The cooking caravan, which will be held through Saturday, was the brainchild of the Union des Francais a l'etranger (Union of French overseas) and an organization of French chefs and patisseries in Japan. The Junior Chamber International Koriyama supported the event.
Each day the cooks prepared meals for between 300 and 1,500 people.
On Friday, the chefs prepared meals for 350 evacuees staying at two facilities in the city.
"I didn't expect to be able to eat such authentic cuisine in a place like this," one evacuee said.