Passion for Japanese cooking earns Edmonton man trip of a lifetime

An Edmonton teacher's cooking skills snagged him a spot on Japanese TV. CTV News Edmonton's Miriam Valdes-Carletti has the story.

Neil Carby’s love for cooking Japanese food has taken him on a tasty journey on the other side of the world.

By day, Carby is a high school teacher. By night, he’s whipping up delicious meals inspired by a trip he took to Japan.

“The food is amazing and the people were amazing,” Carby told CTV News Edmonton. “I came home and I really wanted to embrace that, so I did a series on my social media channels called food I miss from Japan.”

His skills helped grab the attention of the Japanese TV show “Who Wants to go to Japan?” which highlights people who are interested in the culture. A select few are given the chance to learn skills from professionals.

“We hosted a little dinner party, did a bunch of interviews. It was really cool,” explained Carby of the process. “It was a surprise at the very end of that. They were like ‘no, you’re actually going to Japan.’”

Carby and his wife Ally had 10 days to prepare for the trip.

“To get that opportunity to actually learn from Japanese people how to make this cuisine, it just made it that much better and that much more special,” said Ally.

From sourcing local ingredients to learning from Michelin Star Chefs, Carby learned the ins and outs of making tempura.

Back home in his own kitchen, Carby is putting those skills to practice.

“I think that I actually do have the skills and talent that help to validate that a little bit and gave me a little more confidence,” said Carby.