The Hokkai Summer Sake & BBQ Festival is coming and it’s going to be delicious!
Japanese cuisine is one of our absolute favorites. And what would Japanese cuisine be without sake? During the Hokkai Summer Sake & BBQ Festival, you can taste the very finest sake (including cocktails with sake), attend masterclasses with sake brewers, enjoy live music and, of course: lots of Japanese food. Are you, like us, immediately excited about that? Then mark Sunday, July 14 in your calendar and head to Hokkai Suisan in IJmuiden.
Hokkai Kitchen is one of the best Japanese restaurants in the Netherlands. You won’t find Hokkai in a fancy location in Amsterdam, but on an industrial estate in IJmuiden. Last year, Hokkai Kitchen made major changes. No more take-away, but a complete focus on the restaurant. And that also means more sake is being drunk. The sake list has grown enormously, as has their knowledge of sake; at the beginning of February this year, Menno Tol, the Netherlands’ first Master Sake Sommelier, left Japanese restaurant Yamazato to join Hokkai Kitchen.
It’s no surprise, then, that Hokkai now also imports sake itself. To celebrate this, they are organizing a Sake Summer Festival on Sunday, July 14.
Sake
The enchanting Japanese drink that pairs perfectly with food. You may already know that (most) sake is brewed from polished rice. There are many different sake breweries, different sake regions, different styles and grades. That makes buying sake far from easy. But with some basic knowledge, you can certainly find a suitable sake. And another great thing about sake: if it doesn’t live up to expectations, you can always cook with it – sake gives dishes umami and a subtle sweet-and-sour accent.
You can learn more about sake during the masterclasses held as part of the Hokkai Summer Sake & BBQ Festival. Two wonderful sake brewers from Japan will be there to tell you more about Japanese rice wine.
Hokkai Summer Sake & BBQ Festival
- Date: Sunday, July 14, 2024
- Location: Hokkai Suisan, Strandweg 2, IJmuiden
- Time: 14:00 – 18:00 (you’ll be home in time for the EURO final)
- Admission: €20 (including two sakes and a snack)
- Additional ticket for the sake masterclass: + €20 (limited spaces)
- Optional: shuttle service from Amsterdam Sloterdijk station, €15
- Tickets are available via Eventbrite.
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