シュクメルリに馳せる思い : Matsuya

I finally went to Matsuya in front of the station to eat Shkmeruli, which I had wanted to eat during the day. I had never eaten Shkmeruli before, and I knew absolutely nothing about Georgia, but I was already very impressed before I ate it, and after eating it, I was even more impressed and had a deep respect for it, so let me write about it now lol How difficult it is to sell something you don't know to people you don't know. Shkmeruli? Georgian food? Or rather, where is Georgia? Europe? America? Even before I ate it, I had nothing but respect for Matsuya's enormous capacity to sell Georgian Local Cuisine to the market, even though my only knowledge of this is that. I was surprised when I tried it yesterday, it came out very hot, and it was kept hot by a constant fire using solid fuel. It's a concept that completely misses the mark of what customers who come to Matsuya want: fast, delicious, and cheap. When you hear Shkmeruli, you first think, what is it? Is it even a dish? It's the most unknown of unknowns that makes you think. What does it taste like? What's in it? I can't imagine it at all. But who wants to eat it? A Georgian? How many Georgians live in Japan? 50 people? What kind of people want it? They don't even know what's in it or what it tastes like? At first glance, it seems like a foolish marketing-like menu development to sell something they don't know to people they don't know. But! Matsuya is really amazing for making it into a menu. I even feel that the organization is open. And I feel a global respect for food, and I can't help but think that it's a contribution to food culture in Japan. I want it to be everyone's dining table. This is Matsuya's catchphrase, but isn't it a motherly love that makes and feeds slightly unusual and elaborate dishes to expand the range of food for her children? By the way, the Shkmeruli menu this time is the first in the Matsuya World Travels series, a popular reprint series. To summarise the World Travel series, it is: 1. Shkmeruli (Georgia) 2. Cacciatore (Italy) 3. Chicken Condor Bleu (France) *Sold by Matsuya 4. Massaman Curry (Thailand) 5. Chicken Kiev (Ukraine) And although it feels like it's been put off from 3 onwards, it seems to be an ongoing project. Shkmeruli is definitely the most edgy. While eating it yesterday, the conference room at Matsuya came to mind. Sales manager: "Hey, come up with a plan to make the next menu development stand out." Able young employee: "I want to go with Shkmeruli." Sales manager: "What? Shkmeril? What is that? Are you kidding me?" Able young employee: "I'm not kidding, it's a Georgian Local Cuisine." Sales manager: "Georgia? I don't even know where it is! I'm not sure if it's even a country anymore. Are you kidding me?" Able young employee: "I'm not kidding, until now our company has offered safe national food such as Gyudon (Beef bowl), but it's difficult to differentiate from competitors except by appealing to price. Starting with Shkmeruli, let's promote world home cooking to our customers as a world travel series. Manager, I want to be everyone's dining table. This has been our company's copy until now. But from now on, "everyone" should be the people around the world dining table!!" Sales manager: "Oh, on, I'll tell the president." "Nice to meet you!" said the capable young employee. He is the kind of person who will lead Matsuya in the future. This is an organization that properly evaluates that. This guy has potential. And while eating Shkmeruli, which is basically a cream stew with a strong garlic flavor, it was a wonderful lunch experience that made me think about the above. Well... I don't know! Thank you Matsuya!! It was a delicious meal. Ah, I feel refreshed now.