G8: Carbon FOOD Print

Gordon Brown wasted little time on his long flight to Hokkaido: he told his beloved British people not to waste food.

The Japanese people were hospitable and were proud that their Michelin starred chef produced an elaborate eight course menu.

The G8 Dinner Menu: The translation is from the Japanese Government according to the Daily Telegraph.

Hokkaido, Blessings of the Earth and Sea

First course:
Amuse-bouche
Corn stuffed with caviar
Smoked Salmon and Sea Urchin "Pain Surprise style"
Hot Onion Tart
Winter Lily Bulb and Summer Savory
Second course:
Folding Fan Modeled Tray decorated with Bamboo Grasses for Tanabata Festival
Kelp-flavoured cold Kyoto Beef shabu-shabu, asparagus dressed with sesame cream
Diced fatty flesh of Tuna Fish, Avocado and Jellied Soy Sauce, and Japanese Herb "Shiso"
Boiled clam, tomato, Japanese Herb "shiso" in jellied clear soup of clam
Water Shield and Pink Conger dressed with Vinegary Soy Sauce
Boiled Prawn and Jellied Tosazu-Vinegar
Grilled Eel rolled around Burdock strip
Sweet Potato
Fried and Seasoned Goby with Soy Sauce and Sugar
Third course:
Hairy Crab "Kegani" Bisque Style Soup
Fourth course:
Salt-Grilled Bighand Thornyhead with Vinegary Water Pepper Sauce
Fifth course:
Poele of Milk Fed lamb from "Shiranuka" flavoured with aromatic herbs and mustard Roasted Lamb with "cepes" and Black Truffle with emulsion sauce of Lamb's stock and pine seed oil
Sixth course:
Our special selection Cheese, lavender honey and caramelized nuts
Seventh course:
G8 Fantasy dessert
Eighth course:
Coffee served with Candied Fruits and Vegetables
Wines:
Le Reve Grand Cru Brut/La Seule Gloire Champagne
ISOJIMAN Junmai Daiginjo Nakadori (Sake)/Isojiman Shuzo Shizuoka
Corton Charlemagne 2005/Louis Latour Bourgogne
Ridge California Monte Bello 1997
Tokaji Essencia 1999 from Hungary

The Cockroach Catcher's review:

Corn stuffed with Caviar: People have been trying to make bio-fuel with corn. Now corn is deemed to be good enough to match Caviar.

Sea Urchin "Pain Surprise style": You sometimes wonder about Japanese Chefs. They have a wonderful sense of humour. Maybe this Japanese chef is with us. To step on a sea urchin is a painful experience as your flesh is connected to the outside world for days if not weeks. But it may just be the translation.

Kyoto Beef shabu-shabu: In Kyoto this is served straight from a boiling hot broth on the table. This I presume is pre-cooked and presented cold.

Fatty flesh of Tuna: This is the belly part of the Tuna that is highly valued by the Japanese and generally costs four to five times more than other cuts. I am not sure if they specifically tested these, but the higher fat content usually means higher mercury content too. Maybe the G8 submit guys don't worry too much about that.

Pink Conger, grilled eel: It shows how much the Japanese love eel. Conger eel is a lovely creature to see on snorkeling. I hope they leave some .

Bighand Thornyhead: This is a fish, very much like the Red Snapper.

Wines:

Le Reve Grand Cru Brut/La Seule Gloire Champagne: What! The first is Picasso's painting owned by Wynn and so must be Californian. The second is in fact Japanese. The Japanese never waste any opportunity to promote their products. What is wrong with good old Monk’s fizzy?

Tokaji, not d’Yquem: For the French to be snubbed once is bad, but twice on the wine list? What has Sarkozy done to the Japanese, I wonder.

You may also think that I am in competition with Foodie sites. Do not worry, I am only a Cockroach Catcher, and I expect many non-foodie sites will be blogging the G8 menu.

On the official G8 Website:

“The volume of the image files is controlled to reduce electricity consumption.”

How much greener can you get?

A mere 40,000 Japanese Policemen were involved in ensuring the comfort of the participants during dinner. Only US $ 480 was spent for the whole summit. Oh, millions I mean.