Amin Abbas

DUBAI: On Oct. 28, Japanese restaurant IKIGAI-CHA held its Japanese food cooking and tea brewing masterclass in Dubai, which is a unique culinary experience that unites Japanese food lovers.

Held four times a year, the masterclass offers a fully hands-on opportunity to prepare a selection of specially curated Japanese dishes and brew authentic Japanese teas served in artisan pottery.

Attendees spend time cooking, brewing, storytelling, and having an overall fun time. The event was hosted at IKIGAI-CHA Japanese Boutique, showcasing authentic Japanese ingredients and teas by IKIGAI-SHU.

During the event, guests tried five different types of Japanese teas brewed in various methods, such as Sparkling Sencha with Matcha, Iced Tea Hojicha, and Cold Brew Genmaicha. Dishes included Zansai, Soba Salad, Sushi Moriwase, and Matcha Tiramisu.

“We love sharing our passion for Japanese food and beverages and organize regular events and masterclasses,” said Viktoryia Toma, IKIGAI-SHU’s CEO and founder.

“The uniqueness of the ‘IKIGAI-SHU’ event is that it offers the guests an occasion to prepare dishes, brew teas, and enjoy the pairing. Participants really like the ‘do it yourself’ (DIY) format of the event, which allows them to fully experience the cooking and brewing parts of the masterclass. They appreciate the ‘passion and creativity’ and the information provided about the regionality and history of the ingredients and teas. We are happy to know that some of the guests have already started to use the cooking techniques learned at the event for their home cooking,” she added.

The restaurant has many events coming up. In November, it will be holding a global Japanese tea intermediate course. In December, there will be two separate events dedicated to Japanese tea and pottery, as well as taking part in Japan Festival on the 10^th.