Cooking Up Event Success
Armed with an impressive culinary résumé, Marybeth Boller has joined forces with the Club.
Simply listening to Marybeth Boller describe her recipes is enough to send my saliva glands into overdrive.
Speaking on the phone from Awaji Island, in Japan’s Seto Inland Sea, the American enthuses about combining delicate somen noodles with olive oil, tofu, mozzarella and edamame beans, along with satsumas and tomatoes, for a comfort food feast.
With the goal of making the isle “a cool place to be” for young people, Boller, 53, is scouring Awaji farms and fishing ports for quality ingredients. Using the likes of local potatoes, “gorgeous baby turnips” and freshly caught seafood, she is hoping to help rejuvenate the rural economy through cuisine.
With more than 20 years’ experience as a chef and event caterer, the New York native has an expert eye for produce and a deep understanding of flavor combinations.
Boller is now using her culinary acumen in a catering partnership with the Club. By utilizing the Club’s world-class facilities and creative talent, she is crafting innovative menus as part of memorable event experiences for both corporate clients and those entertaining at home.
The move builds on her role as a chef-owner of a successful catering company in the United States for nearly 10 years. During that time, she organized dozens of events, from intimate dinners for 10 to gala functions for 5,000 people, for organizations like Disney, MTV and Cirque du Soleil.
After working as an executive chef in top New York restaurants and training in the kitchens of three Michelin-starred establishments in Britain and France, Boller found herself, somewhat unexpectedly, in the catering business. And she loved it.
Her move to Japan in 2014 was a surprise, too. Former US Ambassador Caroline Kennedy, a longtime client of Boller’s, invited her to become the executive chef at her official residence in Tokyo.
“I was grateful for the opportunity to move to Japan,” says Boller, adding that her love for the country inspired her to stay after Kennedy returned home a year ago. She has since widened the scope of her work, dividing her time between teaching, consulting and catering.
“All my projects are celebrating Japan,” she says. “Japan has fantastic ingredients and I want to show their versatility. I don’t use them the way they are traditionally used. I don’t think in the box.”
Her fusion of Western and Japanese cooking is a source of excitement for her, as is her collaboration with the Club.
“Many people think it’s too difficult to entertain at home in Tokyo because apartments are small, but the Club can cater for your dinner party at its gorgeous facility and then operate a satellite kitchen at your home,” she says. “Everything is seamless and elegant, allowing you to focus on your social gathering.”
Innovative Event Experiences
A catering service from Marybeth Boller and Tokyo American Club.
Words: Kathryn Wortley
Image: Kayo Yamawaki