Ways to Select Sake; Ways to Suggest Sake - Part Two
Promotion and Ways to Make Suggestions to Guests

Last time, I spoke about the types of guests and prices of sake and how to match sake to the types of guests. This time, I would like to write about on the spot conditions and sales methods and how to make suggestions to guests.

<Menu>
For the main purpose of selling sake, a strategy has to be used with the menu that is effective. Besides the grand menu that has the focus on food, a jizake regional sake menu can naturally be very effective.
Regarding the points in creating that menu, for the brand names, besides the Roman alphabets rendering of the Japanese names, English subtitles should be added to help Americans in pronouncing the words when ordering. It may be considered that 100% of Americans would not know how to pronounce the name “Shirakabegura” correctly. There is naturally a high probability that those who cannot pronounce something or find it difficult to do so, will shy away from it. For a man on a date, in front of a woman while ordering drinks he cuts a poor figure. As that as an example, in this situation ordering something like “White Castle” is easy to do and an idea for ordering that will be tucked away for future reference.

In regards to the content
Using the same product qualities as wine (sweetness, dryness, acidity), it is simple to move to the point of sale. At this point, it is better to avoid too abstract expressions or vague expressions such as, “It goes with everything.” It should be simply explained the kind of dishes that go well with it. For instance, it is easier for patrons to visualize eating “white flesh fish and shellfish sashimi lightly sprinkled with yuzu citron juice and wasabi soy sauce” and have them eat it with that sauce and seasoning. And if space is not a problem, it is also effective to add photographs.

<Staff Training>
First and foremost, instruction should be given in an easily understood manner, with the fundamentals compared to wine, which is something that is already familiar. In addition, it should be firmly taught to pay attention to things like preserving the shelf life and quality of the time-dated product. However, too many details are difficult to retain, so the focus should be on explaining thoroughly the sales points of the sake that is in stock. The derivation of the name and its meaning, the history of the sake brewery and similar details conveyed to the buyer spark interest and therefore should be researched. On top of that, during tastings the kinds of foods paired will actually make for unique physical perceptions and it is important to point that out so that it can be fully appreciated. At that time, instead of just a single brand to sample, there should be three different brands with distinctive qualities to be tried simultaneously, so that the various flavors can be compared.

<The Make Up of Food>
The most important thing to pay attention to is the variety and portions. In order to sell sake, in Japan at an izakaya tavern, there are typically more than 80 items of one dish prepared foods offered that are selected to “go well with sake.” There is absolutely no need to have heaping portions, rather it is important to have a large variety of dishes of small portions that reflect the season. It is not necessary to have luxurious dishes that take a lot of time to prepare, but it is fine to come up with ideas that incorporate cooking with a miso base for finger foods. In addition, depending on the sake, dairy products (cheese) and processed meats (ham) that do not need cooking really do go well and I believe should be tried.

<Promotional Events>
Tried and true sake and food pairing events like dinners that have demonstrated successes up to now should, without doubt, be tried since they are always big hits. As for the pricing, it is all right to depend on the judgment of individual restaurants, but in regards to past events that have been held, the most typical price is around $55 for six to seven courses with six brands of sake. Instead of just serving the sake, it is best to simply explain the sake before the meal and for the chef to entertain the guests with an explanation of the cooking technique. Individual guests have described the dinners they have participated in previously in blogs, so those who are interested may access that material at http://jizakeworld.blogspot.com/.


For seminars on Japanese sake or shochu, contact Yuji Matsumoto at 310-936-4649 or ymatsumoto001@gmail.com.



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