It’s 2015. Shoryu, a popular Japanese ramen chain, is opening in Manchester. I’m ready to find the meaning of life at the bottom of a bowl of ramen and when I walk through the door, I hear the phrase itadakimasu! and the banging of a drum. I don’t really think much of the word until the drum bangs again and I hear it repeated for the next customer. And the next customer. And the next customer.

Since then, I’ve been back to Shoryu several times and I continue to search for the meaning of a life at the bottom of every bowl of ramen. But it’s not the only thing that’s stuck with me. Itadakimasu is a word that captures a lot with a little, a proclamation of what Japanese food is or can be. 

Continue reading “Itadakimasu And The Ritualisation Of Japanese Food” →