Hakkasan head of wine Middle East and Asia Olivier Gasselin takes Devina Divecha through a journey of nihonshu (Japanese sake) and food pairing, and imparts knowledge on the beverage
Hakkasan Dubai currently lists 23 sakes on its menu, with 12 of them exclusive to the brand, and Hakkasan head of wine Middle East and Asia Olivier Gasselin is extremely passionate about the subject.
In September 2014, as reported by Caterer Middle East, a sake training course was held at the restaurant in partnership with UK-based Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET). Gasselin is a certified programme instructor, and continues to train the rest of the team in the region.
With sake, he says, the quality levels are determined by a variety of considerations, but the main point to bear in mind is the rice quality. This differs from the kind of rice commonly used in food preparation. He says sake can be compared to wine in that, with wine, a higher price is paid if the grapes used are of high quality.
Similarly, with sake, a higher quality rice used will command a higher price when it is converted to sake.
The quality of spring water used is also important, and Gasselin reveals that generally, sake breweries are located next to a spring. The iron content in the water creates a point of difference in taste. Where exactly the sake is produced is important — and what kind of soil is used.
Gasselin says: “There is another thing which is very important: the yeast used to produce sake. To put it simply: sake rice does not contain any sugar, and to produce alcohol you need sugar. Sake rice contains starch, which is same as beer — you need to convert the starch to sugar so you can start fermentation.
“So there are two processes in sake: one converts starch into sugar, and at the same time, the second process happens, which is fermentation. It’s what makes sake extremely complex: you have to do those two processes together.”
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In Japan, sake with a long finish is not considered as being very good; rather, a short finish is preferred. Gasselin explains: “It needs to be easy to enjoy, and straightforward, and the very best sakes are not the most complex.” Usually, sake needs to be finished within two or three years of production; however, there are some vintage varietals which can be a decade or two old.
Cheap sake is called ‘futsu-shu’ and is of lower quality. Gasselin says the premium categories of sake are Honjozo, Junmai, and Ginjo, with the most premium varieties called Daiginjo.
What divides these into their categories is how much is polished off of the rice grain.
Gasselin says: “With Honjozo, you generally polish off 35-40% off the rice so it becomes quite small. Junmai is very flexible, it’s a category where you can keep quite a large portion of the rice because it’s part of the style. And the most premium varieties, Ginjo and Daiginjo, remove a lot of the rice grain. “The most premium of the sake we have is where 77% of the rice grains are removed, and only 23% remains.”
All the three sakes used in the tasting process (see box out on page 52) are sold in Hakkasan by the carafe. With each variety, the restaurant menu provides recommendations for whether the drink is ideally served chilled, warm, or at room temperature.
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