By YUKO KAWASAKI/ Staff Writer
August 9,twitch スタンプ 増やし 方 2024 at 15:39 JST
Luka Mkheidze holds the gold medal won by the French mixed team judo in Paris on Aug. 3. (Yuko Kawasaki)
PARIS--French judoka Luka Mkheidze credited a traditional Japanese food with giving him and his teammates the lift they needed to win medals at the Paris Olympics.
“Onigiri are like fuel for the body. They give me energy so I can perform properly throughout the day,” said Mkheidze, 28, after France defeated Japan in the Olympic mixed team judo final on Aug. 3.
Mkheidze took home the silver medal in the men’s 60 kg judo competition at the Paris Games.
Mkheidze said he tried Japanese rice balls for the first time during the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. He quickly got hooked by how delicious and convenient they are and started eating them during practices and matches.
He even buys them for his teammates.
“I think a lot of people on the team like onigiri, too,” he said.
In Paris, there are more than 50 onigiri shops, and rice balls are also available in the supermarkets for around 500 yen ($3.40) a piece.
French onigiri have also developed unique flavors such as “salmon and cream cheese” and “tuna and lemon.”
The Paris branch of Omusubi Gonbei, a rice ball shop from Tokyo, is so popular that it often has long lines.
French model Nazim Bouaziz, 26, said, “I prefer onigiri over baguettes because they’re healthier.”
In addition to onigiri, other Japanese foods are also gaining attention.
Aki Cafe in central Paris sells “mochi” as well as onigiri. In France, mochi is a dessert similar to “daifuku,” with cream, ice cream or mousse wrapped inside mochi dough.
Owner Yosuke Ono, 43, said that the shop has been selling mochi for eight years and now sells a thousand a day, including at their chain of stores.
He added that onigiri became more popular during the COVID-19 pandemic as takeout orders increased. Now the shop sells 600 to 700 onigiri a day.
The Olympics is bringing spectators, athletes and officials from around the world to Paris—and new opportunities along with them.
“I want to spread onigiri and mochi not just in Paris but worldwide,” Ono said.
(责任编辑:エンターテインメント)
神戸・佐々木大樹、ライバルG大阪に「リベンジする機会」 Jリーグ発足後初の関西対決の天皇杯決勝23日
人気女優の“証明写真”がレベチ !「明治大学で学び…」履歴書が絶賛「可愛い~」「出来る女って感じ」
【箱根駅伝予選会】わずか1秒差の明暗…順大が10位で本戦へ 東農大は悔しすぎる11位
パリ五輪代表・佐藤水菜が女子スプリントで日本勢初の銅メダル!…自転車トラック世界選手権
「うちの会社の小さい先輩の話」2025年1月にドラマ化!詩織里役は#2i2・十味(コメントあり)
J1首位・広島 、12戦ぶり黒星! 中野就斗がスーパーボレー弾も…湘南に後半ATに逆転負け !
【箱根駅伝予選会】中央学院大が2年連続24回目の出場 日本人トップの吉田礼志「2区で区間賞を目指す」
【安田隆行・元調教師コラムG1帝王学】息子・翔伍師の負担かけない調教 かからない強みあるダービー馬
アニメ「魔神創造伝ワタル」1月12日より毎週日曜夕方5時半から放送(動画あり / コメントあり)
【箱根駅伝予選会】中央学院大の吉田礼志が日本人トップでゴール