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Welcome to the Japanese Culinary Arts Network. Our goal is the expand the knowledge and availability of Japanese Housewares, Cuisine, Technique, and Ingredients to the American market.

Created for promotion of the Japanese Culinary Arts in the United States JCAN is positioned to be the first network of its kind promoting Japanese products in the US.

Here in the United States we have been trading with European and South American nations for hundreds of years. Because of this their culinary traditions, techniques and ingredients are part of our national heritage and are well known here. The market for those goods in specialty food and housewares is well saturated and in some cases consumers have too many choices and it can be confusing. Olive Oil is a good example, this European staple appears in almost every kitchen in the United States.

Japan has far older culinary traditions than Europe, some date back more than a thousand years. Japan never had a dark ages, and so there are more traditions still carried on, and there are more regional specialties than we see in any other part of the world. US trade with Japan however dates back only about 60 years at most. After WWII with the rebuilding of Japan trade began slowly, and is only now reaching any kind of mature status in housewares and specialty food.

The language and geographic barriers are large, but technology now allows for much better communication, and as the specialty market in the US is leaning more and more towards the idea of knowing your producer, Japan is poised to have a large stake in that market. We are in an exciting time where someone from the US can visit a 600 year old Hacho Miso producer and see first hand how a product can not only endure for longer than the US has been a country, but work to create ways that product can be applied to cooking far outside it’s traditional use.

JCAN is not only for the promotion of the tradition of Japan, but it is looking to the future and how we can incorporate these ancient culinary arts into modern cooking, whether that is in a 5 star restaurant, or a household kitchen.

We know that the market here is growing, the rise of Sushi, Ramen, and other Japanese foods, ingredients, and techniques as well as the consumer understanding that Japanese made products are of the highest quality gives us an advantage and will allow us to help promote and expand business.

Harry Rosenblum

President
Japanese Culinary Arts Network