As part of ongoing diplomatic efforts to promote authentic Japanese cuisine against the proliferation of industrialized sushi and teriyaki, Le Cordon Bleu Japan has become the first culinary institute to offer government-approved cooking classes on Japanese gastronomy.
While French cooking techniques dominate the better part of the syllabus in culinary schools, Le Cordon Bleu Japan now offers a six-month program that teaches students the fine art of washoku, or authentic Japanese cuisine, which was inscribed by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2013.
Divided into four levels -- initiation, basic, intermediate and superior -- the Japanese Cuisine Diploma was created to teach budding chefs about the history of Japan's culinary traditions and pass on proper techniques.
The school, which has two campuses in Tokyo and Kyoto, is the first cooking institute in Japan to be accredited with the "Certification of Cooking Skills for Japanese Cuisine in Foreign Countries," official guidelines established by Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
Last year, the ministry announced their intention to create a certification program in a bid to help preserve Japan's culinary heritage and help consumers identify authentic sushi, from the sad, industrialized kind.
A tiered system to help consumers identify restaurants that serve authentic sushi by trained, certified chefs is also in the works.
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