Support Fukushima's Reconstruction with the Power of Sweets! "Sweets Koshien Fukushima Hirono Town Recipe Challenge" Seeking Idea Recipes Using Local Produce

Hirono Town in Fukushima Prefecture and Sankei Shimbun are holding the "Sweets Koshien Fukushima Hirono Town Recipe Challenge," a contest for students nationwide (high school, university, and vocational school students) to compete with their ideas for sweets using Hirono Town's local produce, and are seeking idea recipes. The aim is to convey the deliciousness and appeal of Hirono Town's local produce and to support the reconstruction from the Great East Japan Earthquake and the accident at Tokyo Electric Power Company's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. This is the first spin-off contest, following the "Sweets Koshien No. 1 High School Pastry Chef Competition" which determines Japan's top high school pastry chef, and the "Sweets Koshien Fukushima Challenge Cup" contest for making sweets using Fukushima's local produce.

Hirono Town, with the slogan "The Town That Heralds Spring in Tohoku," is blessed with a warm climate throughout the seasons, and is active in cultivating fruits such as bananas and mandarins, as well as rice. The theme for the recipes is "Sweets Filled with the Charm of Hirono Town." Two categories will be established: the "Fresh Sweets Division" for items like parfaits and cakes, and the "Baked Sweets Division" for items that can be sold as souvenirs. Idea recipes using at least one of the featured local ingredients will be solicited. The Grand Prize winners for each division will be decided by recipe judging by renowned pastry chefs.

Two Divisions: "Fresh Sweets" and "Baked Sweets" - Use at least one featured ingredient

Recipients of the Grand Prize in each division will receive a prize of the right to jointly develop sweets using Hirono Town's local produce with the judging pastry chefs. The developed sweets will be sold at events held in Tokyo. Furthermore, the Grand Prize winners in each division will be appointed as "Fukushima Hirono Town PR Ambassadors" and will be invited to a study tour of Fukushima Prefecture and events in Tokyo. They will be involved in activities to convey the charm of Hirono Town. Please support the reconstruction of Hirono Town with the power of sweets filled with the charm of Hirono Town, devised by all of you! The application deadline is September 4 (Fri) at 5:00 PM. For details on how to apply, please visit the website ( http://fukushima-rc.com/ ).

Implementation Overview

◆ Name: Sweets Koshien Fukushima Hirono Town Recipe Challenge

◆ Co-organized by: Hirono Town, Sankei Shimbun

◆ Eligibility:

- Students enrolled in high schools (full-time, part-time, correspondence, technical high schools, and vocational high school courses), universities/graduate schools, and vocational schools as of April 2026.

- Individuals or pairs of students enrolled in the same school.

- Must be able to act as a "Fukushima Hirono Town PR Ambassador."

◆ Application Period: July 1, 2026 (Wed) - September 4, 2026 (Fri) 5:00 PM

◆ Judging and Announcement: Mid-September 2026

◆ Awards: Grand Prize winners (1 group/person) for each of the two divisions: "Fresh Sweets Division" and "Baked Sweets Division."

◆ Prizes: (1) Right to develop sweets using local produce with judging pastry chefs (2) Appointment as Fukushima Hirono Town PR Ambassador (3) Invitation to a study tour of Hirono Town (4) Two invitations to events in Tokyo.

◆ Sweets Sales Events: "Charm-Filled! Fukushima Festival" (December 4-6, 2026, Odaiba, Tokyo / February 19-23, 2027, Yoyogi Park, Tokyo)

Recipes Sought

◆ Theme

"Sweets Filled with the Charm of Hirono Town"

◆ "Fresh Sweets Division"

Sweets sold at shops or food trucks, such as parfaits, shortcakes, tarts, crepes, pancakes,プリンアラモード (purin a la mode), cream puffs, etc.

◆ "Baked Sweets Division"

Sweets sold at room temperature as souvenirs, such as madeleines, financiers, pound cakes, macarons, cookies, pies, Baumkuchen, etc.

* Applications are accepted for either division, or both divisions.

◆ Featured Ingredients

Bananas, mandarins, mandarin juice, rice, rice flour, sake, salt

◆ Recipe Conditions

Unpublished original recipes using at least one of the featured ingredients above.

◆ Judging Criteria

Ideas that leverage the charm of the featured ingredients / Visuals that convey the charm of the featured ingredients / Ideas for combining featured ingredients, etc.

Judges

Daisuke Mori, Owner Chef of EN VEDETTE

Trained at L'ROYAL and Grand Hyatt Tokyo before moving to France. After working as a chef pâtissier at "Laurent Duchêne" and "Moissonnier," both holders of the M.O.F. (Meilleur Ouvrier de France) title, he returned to Japan. In October 2016, he opened "EN VEDETTE" in Kiyosumi-Shirakawa, Tokyo. He opened a Shibuya branch in November 2019 and "EN VEDETTE Luxe" in Tokyo Midtown in March 2024. He has numerous domestic and international awards, including the Charles Proust General Taste Competition Grand Prize, the Dijon Entremets & Pièces Montées Division Prize, and the Bronze Medal at The World Trophy of Pastry Ice Cream and Chocolate.

Advisor

Yukiko Omori, French Confectionery and Culinary Researcher

After training in confectionery and cooking in France, she introduced French pastries and their background to Japan through the media. She established and popularized the term "Pâtisserie" and the genre of French regional pastries. She presides over French confectionery and cooking classes in Tokyo and Kyoto. Her latest book, "Sweets of Marie Antoinette" (published May 2025), introduces the life of Queen Marie Antoinette and the sweets that accompanied her, including recipes.

Hirono Town's Local Produce

Hirono Town is located on the Pacific coast of Fukushima Prefecture and is blessed with a warm climate year-round, making it active in cultivating fruits such as bananas and mandarins, as well as rice.

Organic Banana "Kirei"

Hirono Town Promotion Corporation, wholly owned by Hirono Town, is challenging the cultivation of bananas, a tropical fruit, as a symbol of reconstruction from the Great East Japan Earthquake. They succeeded in cultivation using a special technique called "Freeze-Thaw Awakening Method," which simulates a glacial period for the seedlings. The name "Kirei (beautiful)," meaning "banana from a town with a beautiful mandarin hill shining in the morning sun," was chosen through a public competition. "Kirei," which has overcome a harsh environment similar to Fukushima after the earthquake, is characterized by its high sugar content, creamy texture, and rich flavor.

Mandarins and 100% Mandarin Juice

Taking advantage of the warm climate with an average winter temperature exceeding 10 degrees Celsius, many mandarin trees are planted in the town, bearing beautiful orange mandarins every year. The mandarin orchard called "Mikan no Oka" (Hill of Mandarins) near the town hall is a symbol of the town, and the mandarins harvested in Hirono Town are processed into "mandarin juice." It has a rich yet easy-to-drink finish with a good balance of sweetness and acidity.

Specially Cultivated Koshihikari Hirono Rice

Hirono Rice is a specially cultivated rice meticulously grown by Hirono Town farmers with hope for the future. Although it requires extra effort due to reduced use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers, the resulting cooked rice has a good sheen and aroma, with the original umami and stickiness of Koshihikari rice firmly intact, making it a representative local product of the town.

Junmai Sake "Oshu Hinode no Matsu"

This sake uses Koshihikari rice from Hirono Town as its raw ingredient. It has a polishing ratio of 70%, a sake meter value of +2 to +4, an acidity of 1.5 to 1.7, and an alcohol content of 15%. It is a slightly dry junmai sake with the familiar sweetness of Koshihikari rice, commonly eaten, felt within its clean taste.

Salt "Chito Hana" - Blessing from the Distant Pacific

This salt is made by drawing seawater. In 1999, when salt production was liberalized, Chairman Yoshida of Yoshida Tekkojo began making salt for sale in 2005, inspired by his childhood memories. Using 100% seawater as raw material, it is boiled down in a flat-bottomed pan handmade by Chairman Yoshida, then dried to create the salt.