Event Recap: Japanify All Day at Umami Mart
One of the best things to come out of 2016 was Japanify All Day, a zine that includes 21 simple Japanese recipes that I wrote, and that Kayoko and Sarah edited. I am so proud of this little zine that was produced entirely in-house and printed just down the road at Solstice Press in West Oakland.
Although it was technically released the day after Thanksgiving last year, we celebrated its release all last month by throwing a series of events. We also held the Japanify Golden Ticket Contest, where we hid five golden tickets in 200 zines, a la Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Japanify Month went out with one final bang on February 25th, when we hosted our Japanify All Day at Umami Mart party, where we gave away the remaining three of five golden tickets and invited Megumi Natto (a natto producer from Sebastopol) and J-Shack (a food truck that serves up savory and sweet Japanese crepes) to join us. The sun came out for most of the day, as did many of our regulars and friends.
With the help of Megumi Natto's team, I made two loaves worth of Natto Toast (a recipe you can find in Japanify All Day) to hand out to any takers, including natto veterans and novices. It was a privilege to have fresh, never frozen natto to offer to everyone.
The first customer to get a golden ticket won a MAC Santoku Knife!
A customer who bought a zine online with a winning golden ticket came in that day to claim his Copper Tamago Pan!
Kayoko and I shared two savory crepes from J-Shack, which was parked right in front of the store.
My favorite was the Japanese Curry Crepe with Arabiki Sausage. The taut sausage coupled with the mildly sweet curry sauce, all wrapped with fresh greens, was a satisfying midday treat.
As the day closed and the suspense thickened, it was MC who won the 3-month subscription to Sake Gumi! We all engaged in a happy dance when she revealed the winning ticket.
Thanks to everyone who came out and tried their luck with the Japanify Golden Ticket sweepstakes!
