Lotsa ways one can say “nama ham” (生ハム) - raw ham, uncured ham, dry-cured ham, prosciutto; a word I just learned today is cortador, Spanish, referring to a chef who prepares the ham in thin slices and arranges them beautifully on a plate. The reason I bring this up is that a certain Mr. Jo Akihiro, proprietor/chef of the Spanish restaurant El Castillo (get it?! His name translates as “castle,” so he names his restaurant “The Castle”! Ha ha ha!) on Shinshigai was runner-up in the all-Japan Cortador Competition held in recently in Tokyo and will thus, along with the winner (some guy from Osaka), represent Japan at the World Cortador Cup, to be held in Toledo, Spain at the end of this month.
Two points. One: I shoulda been a prosciutto judge - when I was in college, I didn’t even know such a job existed. Two: I really, really want to visit his restaurant (新市街13−8 Azuma ビル2F). - William
