Lamb Ajitsuke Genghis Khan competition in Japan
18 July 2024
The awards ceremony for this year’s Ajitsuke Genghis Grand Prix took place in the Australian Embassy in Tokyo in June.
Key points:
- Ajitsuke Genghis Khan is a traditional Japanese cuisine which is popular in Hokkaido and involves the marinating of sheepmeat before grilling.
- This is the third year MLA has conducted a competition where Ajitsuke Genghis Khan producers were invited to submit their products for judging across different categories.
- MLA is looking to achieve promotion of Ajitsuke Genghis Khan cuisine beyond Hokkaido into West Japan for increased consumption and improved consumer experience with Australian lamb.
The third year of MLA’s Ajitsuke Genghis Khan Grand Prix, where producers are invited to submit their products for judging across different categories, wrapped up in June with an awards ceremony at the Australian Embassy in Tokyo, Japan.
Ajitsuke Genghis Khan is a traditional Japanese cuisine which is popular in Hokkaido and involves the marinating of sheepmeat before grilling. The annual competition has become a popular event, with last year’s winners featured and distributed through Japan’s largest retail co-operative, CGC.
Over 50 Ajitsuke Genghis Khan products were entered into this year's competition, with entries coming from all over Japan. Entrants were classified into traditional and new wave entrants. Judges for the event included MLA’s Regional Manager, Travis Brown, alongside members of the Australian Embassy, Japanese Lambassadors and Japanese media.
An awards ceremony was held in June at the Australian Embassy in Tokyo. An opportunity for winners and invited guests to enjoy some of the winning entrant’s products at a networking event in the Embassy gardens followed the ceremony.
The increasing volume, diversity and geographic disbursement of entries suggest good progress is being made in making Ajitsuke Genghis Khan products more widely available across all of Japan rather than just in its traditional home of Hokkaido. MLA is focused on promoting the cuisine in West Japan to increase consumption in this region and improve the ‘Australian lamb experience’ for these consumers.
