Many people are surprised that Viking is Japanese English and the ancestor of the buffet is the Nordic smorgasbord. “Smorgasbord” means “table of bread and butter” in Swedish, and pointed at form to put various ingredients on bread and to eat. It is said that it has been going on since the 1700s.

Ingredients are very rich, ranging over 50 types. Beef, chicken, wild chicken, roast beef, ham, sausage, beef tongue, liver paste, meatball, pickled herring, marinated salmon, shrimp, anchovy, caviar, sea urchin, salmon roe, smoked eel, smoked salmon, cod Eggs, cheese, gratin, macaroni salad, pickles, pineapple, papaya etc. were eaten.

Instead of cooking a lot of food at once, it is better to serve them little by little on a plate. The more you go back and forth between the table and the cooktop, the more plates you have, the better manner is.

 

 

In 1957, when Tetsuzo Inumaru, who was the manager of the Imperial Hotel, was thinking about the concept of a newly opened restaurant, it was said that he traveled to Copenhagen with Scandinavian air, which entered Japan, and met a smoggas board. “Fishery and seafood are suitable for the taste of the Japanese people, and they are luxurious and voluminous. It is unique to eat something you like freely,” said Murakami, who is training at the Ritz Hotel in Paris at the beginning of 1958. I told Mr. Nobuo to research.

Mr. Murakami first visited the Champs Elysées in Paris, but it was said that it was better to learn at home and flew to Copenhagen. After studying at a restaurant in the city, I move to the hotel restaurant. Gradually I learned the cooking tips and devised many recipes. After completing three years of training in Europe in June 1958, he was appointed chef of the second new wing, which will open on August 1 in late July. The restaurant “Imperial Viking” built on the first basement floor is the first buffet restaurant in Japan.

The name Viking was decided by an internal offering. In the pirate movie “Viking” starring Kirk Douglas, there was a scene to eat and drink briskly. Based on this image, it is said that three people, including Eiji Oi of the boy, applied for the name “Viking” and won.

 

 

The price at that time was 1200 yen for lunch, 1500 yen for dinner, and about 40 types. JNR minimum fare is 10 yen, coffee is 50 yen, admission fee of the cinema is 150 yen, and the front crosspiece seat of Sumo is 1000 yen. It would have been enough to stay at the Imperial Hotel if I could get 1800 yen. It was very expensive, but it was difficult to make a reservation, and it was a big success for the procession.

In the “Weekly Asahi” published on August 24, Soichi Oke, a social critic, introduced “Buffets of Scandinavian cuisine for 1,200 yen”, and Shigeo Nagashima, a giant who debuted in that year and became a rookie We also visited celebrities such as Mr. Rikidoyama, a professional wrestler, and artist Shusetsu Endo.

The menu was centered on cold dishes such as smoked salmon, eel jelly, liver paste, and boiled Ise shrimp, and at that time there were blue cheese and black bread, which were still rare, and the way to eat was unknown. Danish pastries were also introduced to Japan for the first time at this time. It was a content that goes on the cutting edge of the era.