Tomiko Abe Fulfills Promise to FDNY Chief

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［English Edition］
VOICES From
THE NEW YORKERS
David Bouley Praises
Japanese Ingredients
Susan Hamaker
On January 19,
David Bouley
praised Japanese
ingredients at
The New York
Times Travel
Show. “I’m a
French chef,” he
said. “I’m breaking away from all
the unhealthy aspects of too much
fat. I’ve been seduced by all the
benefits of Japanese healthier
cooking.”
His demonstration emphasized
kaiseki cooking in French cuisine,
saying Japanese ingredients yield
“cleaner, purer, healthier food.”
He began by preparing dashi using
kombu, dried bonito flakes, and
kuzu, a gluten-free thickening
agent that replaces hard-to-digest
ingredients such as butter, flour,
and cornstarch.
The result was a healthy black
truffle dashi with porcini mushroom puree, crabmeat, and
chawan mushi. “I know some of
you are looking at this and thinking, ‘Why would I want to eat seaweed?’” he said, “but I can’t
think of anything that’s healthier
for you than this. All the electrolytes, the minerals, a fair
amount of vitamins are in this seaweed.”
Mr. Bouley liberally uses seaweed and other Japanese ingredients such as koji, yuba skin, and
kuzu in his restaurants, Bouley
and Brushstroke, a joint venture
with the Tsuji Culinary Institute.
Brushstroke runs on the principle
of a kaiseki tasting menu that
leaves you feeling energized
rather than full and sleepy.
“This kind of food is totally in
sync with the digestion of the
body,” he said. In March, Mr.
Bouley will lead Food & Wine
magazine’s Culinary Journey to
Japan for ten days.
(Susan is the writer and editor of
JapanCultureNYC, an Englishlanguage Web site for all things
Japanese in New York.)
週刊NY生活　SHUKAN NEW YORK SEIKATSU
NYクール日本
COOL JAPAN from New Yorkers’ Viewpoints
Tomiko Abe Fulfills Promise to FDNY Chief
Essay Contest Will Bloom into Cultural Ties
Between the United States and Japan this Cherry Blossom Season
On January 14, Tomiko Abe
visited the New York Fire
Department to give $10,000 to
fire commissioner Salvatore J.
Cassano, for the children of firefighters who died in the line of
duty. The money is for an upcoming essay contest, when two fire
department employee children
will visit Japan in the spring.
In 2000, Ms. Abe, who works
in humanitarian aid, established
the Manabu Mabe award to honor
the life and works of Manabu
Mabe, a successful JapaneseBrazilian painter called the
“Picasso of Brazil.” She has given
awards to winners from the
United States, Brazil, Kenya,
Ethiopia, and Japan at the Kyoto
International Conference Hall.
The United States’ recipient in
2000 was the child of a New York
police officer who died in service
in November of 2000. Gerard
Barbara, then assistant chief of
the department, told Ms. Abe at
the reception that many fire fighters have died in the line of duty,
and asked her to give an award to
their children next time. Ms. Abe
promised to do so.
Chief Barbara later died while
serving his city after the 9/11
attacks, and Ms. Abe did not forget her promise. Recently, a series
of events occurred that have
allowed her to fulfill that promise.
Last year a friendship exchange
program between China and
Japan, planned by Ms. Abe, was
canceled. In the program, Takumi
Nakamura, an eighth grader at the
Daiichi junior high school in
Kitakata (Fukushima Prefecture),
won the Kanichi Asakawa Award
in the competition held by
Fukushima Education Board by
writing an essay on international
understanding and exchange. He
would have visited China.
Tomiko Abe showed
Nakamura’s essay to Michael S.
2013年（平成25年）2月2日（土）
Left to right: Assistant Chief of Fire
Prevention Richard S. Tobin;
Michael S. Limb, Executive
Chairman of Asian-American
Council; Fire Commissioner
Salvatore Cassano; Tomiko Abe;
Chief of Fire Prevention Thomas M.
Jensen
Limb,
the
executive
chairman of
the
AsianAmerican
council. Mr.
Limb said his
organization
Takumi Nakamura
would like to
give an award
to Nakamura
and his school
principle,
K o i c h i
Takanashi.
Ms. Abe
saw this as the
perfect opporKoichi Takanashi
tunity to fulfill
her 11-year promise to chief
Barbara.
Early this year she will collect
essays on peace from the children
of fire department employees. A
boy and girl will be selected and
invited to Aizuwakamatsu in
Fukushima during cherry blossom
season to foster strong cultural
ties and friendship. The funds will
go towards travel expenses.
“Since 9/11 and 3/11, both
Americans and Japanese have
been trying to overcome many
hardships,” said Ms. Abe. “If both
could understand and help each
other more, I imagine it would
build greater cultural ties. I am
happy to realize my promise to
Chief Barbara.”
Salvatore Cassano, a close
friend of Chief Barbara, expressed
his gratitude to Ms. Abe for supporting the friendship between
Japan and the United States, and
for the gift to the children.
(Article/Photo by Ryoichi Miura;
Translated by Chiaki Yoshida)
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