きょうは Bethnal Green近くの Victoria Park 商店街のサマーフェスティバルの日。地元住民のゆきよちゃんちで準備して、Japanese Food の出店を出した。お料理得意な千津子ちゃんと3人でやった。まあ、私は昨日の準備、夜ゆきちゃんちに集合するはずだったが、疲労と眠気に勝てず、行かなかったので実質彼女たち2人に努力の成果なんだけど。
おにぎり（たまご、つなまよ、たくあん）、お稲荷さん、散らし寿司、ころっけ、じゃぱにーずチキンカレーライスなどを出した。味噌汁、麦茶もおいた。食べ物はほぼ完売。味噌汁、麦茶は完敗。千津子ちゃんの作ったカレーやコロッケは本当においしかった。6歳ぐらいのブロンドのかわいい男の子なんかは、お兄ちゃんに連れられて、2回もそのカレーを買いに来て、最後はお母さんを連れて、もう一杯食べに来たぐらいだ。お結びはつなまよ、たくあん（ベジタリアンの人が）、がよく売れた。カレーもルーだけにして、肉や揚げ物、野菜などをお好みで入れるようにすればベジタリアンにも売れるかも。たくあんに代わるベジタリアン結びの具も考えたらいいと思った。麦茶とか日本のお茶はウイッタードにあるようなお猪口のような入れ物で試飲してもらったらいいかもしれない。多分みんななんだかわからなかったのだろう。ゆきちゃんのだんな、ジョンのすばらしい発想、ローリーポップを子ども達にただで配るって作戦は客寄せに役立ったようだ。Jasonもお客さんと話したり、値札がきしたりしてた。
お客さんはほぼ全員外人。中には「この辺で日本食屋をやってるのか」とか、「ケータリングもやるの」とかいう人もいた。あのあたりでビジネスになるかなあ。一組の英人カップルが、小さい男の子と一緒に来たのだが、だんなの方が「こいつのミドルネームはワサビって言うんだよ」って言うから、私は大きな声で「冗談でしょ！」本当に冗談かと思って大声で笑ったら、「彼は日本でできたんだ。」ちょっと失礼だったかしら。でも、例えば、男の子の名前が「ジェイムス・わさび・クラーク」なんていう名前だったらやっぱりおかしい。
夕方ぎりぎりまで天気が持ち、コスト差し引いて、70 ポンドだったが儲けも出た。グロスプロフィットは 200 ポンドぐらいだったようだ。私と Jason は夕食はパスして、家に戻り、そのままばたんきゅー。ご飯も食べず、お風呂も入らず、朝まで久しぶりに13時間ぐらい寝たんじゃないかしら。まあ、彼は韓国の時差ぼけもあったみたいだが。私はさすがに夜中に目が覚めて「赤ちゃんにご飯食べさせなきゃ」と、寝ぼけながらお餅を２つも食べたような気がする。
文化祭みたいで楽しい一日だった。
It's Summer Festival at Victoria Park near Bethnal Green. We had a small Japanese Food stall. We prepared food at Yuki's as she lives only 50 meters away. The main chef was another Chizuko who is really good at cooking. In fact, nearly all the preparation was done by Yuki and Chizuko as I could not join them yesterday. I was too tired.
We were selling, Rice Balls (with fried egg, tuna mayonnaise and Japanese picked radish - takuan), Oinarisan (sushi rice rapped in a thin bean curd paper), croquettes, Chirashi Sushi (sushi rice with lots of toppings), Japanese chicken curry rice. We also prepared Miso soup and Japanese barley tea (mugicha). We sold all the food but miso soup and barley tea were difficult. Probably, for teas, we need to prepare small cups for tasting. Croquettes and curry cooked by Chizuko chan were gorgeous! One small blonde boy around 6 years old came to eat a bowl twice with his elder brother, and came back again for his 3rd with his mom! Rice balls with Tuna and Japanese pickles were also doing quite well. There are lots of vegetarian people, and Japanese pickles were the only choice for them. It may be worth thinking about some better rice ball toppings than Japanese pickles for vegetarians next time. For curry, next time, we can just prepare plain curry and add meat or vegetables upon request. Yuki's husband John started to give away rolly pops to kids and some of their parents, of course, stopped to have a look at out stall. Good manoeuvre! Jason as well explained the food to the customers or wrote a couple of price tags in both Japanese and English.
Nearly all the customers were non-Japanese. One asked, 'Do you have a Japanese restaurant around here,' and the other said, 'Do you take catering orders?' One British couple came with their small son. The husband said, ' My son's middle name is WASABI.' I honestly thought he was joking. I laughed loudly and replied, 'You must be joking.' 'Well, he is made in Japan!' He must have been serious. I must have been rude. But if I think about his son's possible name "James Wasabi Clark", I still can not help laughing!
Luckily, the weather held till the early evening. We could even make net profit of 70 pounds. Gross profit was about 200 pounds. Jason and I skipped dinner with the others, and came home. We straight went to bed and slept through to the morning for about 12, 13 hours. We did not even eat dinner nor brushed teeth. Jason still must have a jet lag from the trip to Korea. I woke up in the middle of night though, and ate 2 pieces of Mochi, Japanese rice cakes, mumbling 'I have to feed my baby.'
It was a really pleasant day like a school festival.
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