About Us

 

The Association for the Advancement of the Japanese Culinary Arts
The Association for the Advancement of the Japanese Culinary Arts  (The AAJ) was founded in 1930, aiming to familiarize and share knowledge, recipes, and skills of Japanese cuisine among chefs across the world.

It is like a knowledge sharing model amongst high-profiled chefs.
Japanese cuisine is getting popular by the changing of mind for health and anti-aging. As a result, the number of Japanese restaurant is increasing rapidly. Furthermore, Washoku was designated to the Intangible Cultural Heritage of UNESCO in 2013.
We are thinking that it’s possible to accelerate a creation of new food and food culture through adopting some essence of Japanese cuisine by world professional chefs regardless of the genres. By all means, we will be a mediator between Japanese cuisine and world professional chefs and we want to contribute to your further differentiation and your customer’s satisfaction. AAJ operates following businesses and has more than 10,000 members from fledgling chefs to full-fledged chefs including Michelin starred chefs.

The Services of the AAJ

Activities

  • Promoting the advancement of the culinary arts and culture of Japan.
  • Curating and publishing a monthly magazine called the Gekkan Nihon Ryori showcasing the culinary arts of Japan.
  • Operating a recipe resource website for professional chefs in Japanese, English, and Chinese .
  • Promoting Japanese arts via our Instagram(JP),  Instagram(EN), and Facebook page.
  • Hosting and organizing culinary workshops and demonstrations for advanced chefs.
  • Supporting the sales of various manufactures in the food industry of Japan.
  • Advising and supporting businesses operating Japanese restaurants around the world.
  • Administering the culinary certification program of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries of Japan.
    http://www.maff.go.jp/j/shokusan/syokubun/pdf/chori_o_e.pdf

History

  • August 1930: Establishment of the AAJ
  • January 1931: The first publishing of our monthly Japanese cuisine magazine (‘Gekkan Nihon Ryori’)
  • May 1984: The AAJ was approved as an incorporated association by the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
  • August 2011: The professional recipe website ‘recipe-ru’ was launched
  • April 2014:  The AAJ was approved as a Public Interest Incorporated Association by the Cabinet Office of Japan
  • November 2016: Our recipe website was adapted into English.
  • July 2018: Our recipe website was adapted into Chinese.