French cooking class held in Kamaishi, Iwate Pref., to commemorate the sister city agreement with Digne-les-Bains

KAMAISHI, Iwate — A French cooking class was held in late July in Kamaishi, Iwate Prefecture, to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the sister city agreement between the city and Digne-les-Bains in France.

Eight parents and children from the neighborhood tried to bake pancakes.

After the Sanriku Sea Expo in Kamaishi in 1992, the friendship between the two cities began and they signed a sister city agreement in 1994. Since then, the two cities have deepened their friendship. Kamaishi received emergency aid from the French city after the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011.

Isabelle Sasaki, 44, a French resident of Ofunato Prefecture, was a teacher at the cooking class.

Made with a batter of flour, eggs and milk, French crêpes are flavoured with sugar and have a simple taste. Participants carefully spread a thin layer of batter in a flat pan and fry the crêpes one by one.

“The batter was sticky and delicious,” said a 10-year-old girl in the fourth grade of a primary school in Kamaishi with a smile.

“Everyone did a very good job,” Sasaki said, adding: “I’m glad they are interested in my country’s culture.”