Japan
Dangerous delicacy: Ten-year-old is allowed to prepare fugu from puffer fish
A puffer fish may look harmless, but to prepare fugu, the skin, intestines, ovaries and liver must be carefully removed
© QKD/Rex Features / Action Press
In Japan, everyone knows that a mistake when gutting puffer fish can be fatal – for the connoisseur of this delicacy. Nevertheless, a girl now has a license to prepare fugu.
“I was happy when the governor said ‘oishi’,” Tabira reported during the tasting. “Oishi” means “tasty” or “delicious” in Japanese.
Parts of the puffer fish are highly poisonous
Fugu, made from puffer fish, is a delicacy that is usually served raw in Japanese restaurants. However, special expertise is required when preparing it: the skin, intestines, ovaries and liver of wild puffer fish contain a deadly poison and must be removed with extreme care. Japanese chefs therefore need special training and a license to prepare puffer fish. Nevertheless, people in Japan continue to die after eating improperly prepared fugu.
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Tabira’s interest in fugu training was sparked by the news that a sixth-grader from another region in Japan had passed the test. In February, she was able to begin training herself at a company in Kumamoto. However, she took the test in the Yamaguchi region, where there is no minimum age for the test takers.
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A total of 60 people passed the fugu exam in Yamaguchi this summer, most of them trained chefs, in addition to Tabira. 33 candidates failed. “Even our adult employees can fail the test,” said Yuki Hirao from Tabira’s training company. “It’s amazing that a ten-year-old can pass the test on the first attempt.”