Iron Chef Nabe Taikai Recap!

And the 2010 Iron Chef Nabe Taikai champions are….Potato Heads! Omedetougozaimasu! We also want to say congratulations to the 21 JETAA Hawaii members, JET alumni, English language students, and friends and family who participated in our 5th Annual Nabe Taikai at Our Redeemer Lutheran School on Saturday, March 6, 2010 from 3:00 – 8:00 pm. All of the nabe creations were delicious, not to mention beautifully presented and made with the finest, freshest ingredients!

This year’s teams were: the Potato Heads, Harakiri Karakuchi Nabe, The Guy Team, and Ai Love Nabe. Each team huddled together over their Safeway ads to see how they would spend the allotted $30 to create the winning nabe creation (including the secret ingredient: potato – any type, any form). All teams were given one hour to drive to Safeway, shop, and return to the facility to begin cooking. After an hour of cooking, teams were judged on taste, originality, presentation, and timeliness/teamwork.

We would like to send a special thank you to our mystery judges, Susan Yamashita from the Consulate General of Japan at Honolulu, and JETAA Hawaii member Jennifer Seki, whose mother works at Our Redeemer Lutheran School and allowed us use of the facility. The judges’ tallies revealed close scores for all four teams, with Potato Heads slightly edging out the other teams to take the gold! Congratulations, Potato Heads, and we hope you enjoy your Starbucks gift certificate prizes! It was a night of friendly competition, new friendships, and indulging in delicious nabe!

In closing, JETAA Hawaii President Kelsey Soma thanked Vice President Kori-Jo Kochi and Secretary Joyce Tokuda for their years of service on the Executive Board (terms ending the end of March) as the other officers presented them with lei and thank you gifts. To Kori-Jo and Joyce, you will really be missed! Otsukare sama deshita! Please check out our photos to relive the excitement, and be sure to join us next year to see who will claim the title of 2011 Nabe Taikai Champion!