Photo/Illutration “Daiya monburan” from Omitama city in Ibaraki Prefecture won the grand prize in the sweets category. (Provided by the prefecture)

MITO--An unprecedented contest was held here to address the seeming lack of high-profile gourmet food in Ibaraki Prefecture.

Although the prefecture is the top producer of various ingredients, it does not have what could be called a “signature” gourmet dish.

The prefectural government organized the Oct. 12-14 event, called “Shin Ibaraki Meshi Sosenkyo 2024” (New Ibaraki food general election 2024), in the spirit of “if there is a lack, why not create some.”

The contest was the first attempt to have all municipalities in the prefecture come up with ideas for a gourmet food to represent Ibaraki.

Forty-one municipalities submitted entries in the general cooking category, while 39 cities, towns and villages entered the sweets category.

They were required to create completely new dishes using locally produced ingredients or add new twists to existing local gourmet food.

The grand prizes went to “Shin Ibaraki agesoba” (New Ibaraki deep-fried noodles) from Goka town in the general cooking category, and “Daiya monburan” (Diamond Mont Blanc) from Omitama city in the sweets category.

The event was held in front of the prefectural Sannomaru Building in Mito and drew around 64,000 visitors, according to the prefecture. They formed long lines, and many of the stalls ran out of food.

The two categories each had 10 finalists chosen through prior polling and voting at the venue.

“Shin Ibaraki agesoba” features deep-fried Hitachi aki soba noodles topped with locally produced vegetables and thickened sauce. “Daiya monburan” is inspired by the sun setting behind Mount Tsukuba and features sweet potato ice cream topped with cream and macaroon.

The winning municipalities said they created the original dishes through trial and error. They are both thinking of commercializing their winning works.

“We were able to prove Ibaraki’s potential by showing that we can create such wonderful dishes if we join forces,” Ibaraki Governor Kazuhiko Oigawa said.

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