TOKYO -- The Japanese Cuisine and Dietary Culture Human Resource Development Program, organized by the Japanese non-profit organization JCDC (Location: Tokyo, Representative: Yoshihiro Murata), is a training program supported by the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), with the aim of developing human resources to promote Japanese food, dietary culture and Japanese ingredients overseas. The program has been held every year since 2016, and to date more than 200 chefs have participated and are now active in countries around the world.

After undergoing a month of online training, the nine young chefs, who were selected from countries around the world, came to Japan in late August and underwent about six months of practical training in the kitchens of famous Japanese restaurants in Kyoto and Tokyo, based on the fundamental techniques of Japanese cuisine that they had learned at one of Japan’s leading culinary schools. At the end of their training, they took an exam based on the guidelines of the Certification of Cooking Skills for Japanese Cuisine in Foreign Countries, and four of them received a Silver Certification and five received a Bronze Certification. It is hoped that they will put their knowledge of Japanese food culture and skills in Japanese cuisine to good use in their home countries.

This program is held every year with the support of the Japanese government for foreign chefs who want to learn authentic Japanese cuisine. Information about applications for 2025 will be announced on the JCDC website in May or later.