Year 9 Japanese Cooking Lesson 

The Year 9 Japanese Elective Course students had their Japanese Cooking lesson in Term 3 Week 9, where they had the opportunity to taste the delicious Japanese dish called Okonomiyaki, the Japanese savoury pancake. This culinary adventure was made even more special with the invaluable assistance of two Japanese exchange students and Ms Suzuki, Leader of Learning - Languages, who generously shared their expertise and passion for Japanese cuisine.

While waiting for the okonomiyaki, Year 9 students learnt the okonomiyaki recipe, cooking words and table manner words which are いただきます, itadakimasu and ごちそうさまでした, gochisousamadeshita. The school undercroft area became bustling with laughter, chatter, and the sizzle of okonomiyaki on the griddle creating an atmosphere of joy and excitement.

The culmination of the cooking session was a shared meal, where students sat together to experience Japanese food - okonomiyaki. The joy and satisfaction on their faces spoke volumes about the success of the Japanese Cooking lesson. It was not just a lesson in culinary arts but a celebration of cultural exploration and the joy of tasting delicious Japanese food together.

A special thank you to the Japanese exchange students, Hiro and Souki for their enthusiastic participation and mentorship. We extend our appreciation to the Japanese language teachers, Ms Suzuki and Miss Matsufuji for their dedication to making this cultural experience possible for our Year 9 Japanese students.

We look forward to more enriching experiences that blend cultural exploration with hands-on learning.

Feedback from the Year 9 Japanese Course students:

Today we tried Okonomiyaki, which is a Japanese dish that is composed of ingredients such as bacon, cabbage, cheese, batter, sauce and spring onion which allows the dish to be delicious and flooded with umami. This dish was different to any dish I had tried before, allowing me to immerse myself into Japanese culture more, and we also learnt new cooking terms that we students may have a chance to use. Furthermore, this was an exciting experience that allowed us to try tasty food, and learn of other cooking techniques, and ingredients the Japanese put together to create this dish. 

• Sabrina Dutong

Personally, I genuinely loved the food so much. The cultural practices that me and my peers had to follow were a unique experience. What wasn’t unique to me though, was the part where we needed to use chopsticks. I’ve been using chopsticks my entire life, so I felt pretty chill eating the Okonomiyaki with the chopsticks! It was a lovely experience, and it was very fun seeing the traditional Japanese food. The Japanese exchange students and Ms Suzuki did an excellent job in making the food delicious and fragrant.

• Amelie Liu

Miss Miho Matsufuji

Japanese Teacher