Chapter Four. The Receiver: The Consumer

Abstract

Given the indisputable presence and appreciation of Italian food in Japan, the major goal of this chapter is to investigate the role of the chefs and pizza chefs in proposing Italian cuisine to Japanese consumers. It also looks at Italian cuisine in general. The chapter examines these questions: how do Italian cuisine chefs perceive Japanese consumers? How do food workers influence the customer taste? How is their work influenced by the customers' tastes? What are the reasons, according to chefs, for the great popularity of Italian cuisine among Japanese? The first section is devoted to participant observation in countless Tokyo restaurants, and on group and individual interviews held between August and September 2009. The second section gives voice to restaurateurs-to Italian (IP) and Japanese pizzaiolos (JP), showing how they perceive customers and contribute to shaping customers' tastes and attitudes towards Italian cuisine and ways of eating, .Keywords: Italian Cuisine; Italian pizzaiolos (IP); Japanese consumers; Japanese pizzaiolos (JP); pizza chefs