The Road-1 Grand Prix decides the best roadside station gourmet among the many rivals. Last year, the winner was the "Super Thin Mont Blanc" made with chestnuts from Kasama City, Ibaraki Prefecture. This year, they are aiming for consecutive victory with a secret recipe. To put a stop to it, roadside station gourmet with ingenuity from all over the country is gathering one after another. Which gourmet will be the top? ■ Unique roadside stations gather! This year marks the 6th "Road-1 Grand Prix 2024". 17 roadside stations selected from 1,221 locations nationwide will compete for the top spot. Each roadside station is unique. Gunma Prefecture's local brand, Yamato pork shabu-shabu marinated in soy sauce koji, "Soy Sauce Koji Marinated Pork Shabu Bowl". The flames are rising at Miyazaki Prefecture's "Kitago Roadside Station". In fact, Miyazaki's specialty, charcoal grilled chicken, is not chicken, but bonito. Miyazaki is also the number one place in Japan for the amount of bonito caught by line fishing in the coastal waters. The only sushi in the tournament is the golden-eyed snapper sushi from Shimoda City, Shizuoka Prefecture, which is seared and finished separately. ■The ultra-thin Mont Blanc that makes a long line An hour after the start of the event, we found a particularly long line. It was the "ultra-thin Mont Blanc," which won the Grand Prix last year. The cream in Mont Blanc is usually 1 mm thin, but by reducing it to just half that thickness, 0.5 mm, we were able to achieve a fluffy, melting texture. In fact, this year's Mont Blanc is said to be more powerful than last year's, thanks to a secret technique. We headed to the Kasama roadside station in Ibaraki Prefecture. In fact, Ibaraki Prefecture has the highest chestnut harvest in Japan. Inside the roadside station, there are various menus using chestnuts, including chestnut soft serve ice cream, chestnut beer, and even chestnut-squeezed tantanmen. Among them, the one that had the longest line was the ultra-thin Mont Blanc that the championship trophy shines on. It is said that sales doubled after winning the Grand Prix, and the number of customers visiting the roadside station has increased. What is the secret to powering up this Mont Blanc? We were introduced to... It turns out that it is actually a precious chestnut. It is said that "chestnuts are most delicious when they are freshly picked," and the period when they are freshly picked is only short, about one month from mid-September. Last year's Grand Prix was held in November, so this year they used a lot of new chestnuts that could not be used, and the flavor has been greatly improved. They are aiming for consecutive victories. Manabe Toyomitsu develops a 0.5mm ultra-thin Mont Blanc "(Q. Is it really that different?) It's completely different!" Sugai Toshiyuki, stationmaster of the Kasama roadside station, says, "The smell is different, and I think the fresh feeling is quite different." There is a constant line at the competition. Manabe Toyomitsu "(Q. How does it feel?) There is a line and we are squeezing it as hard as we can." ■A new secret weapon appears Just when you think Mont Blanc will win by a landslide, a long line has formed that rivals Mont Blanc. The target is "meat-wrapped rice balls" wrapped in "A5-ranked Awaji Wagyu beef" from Awaji Island, Hyogo Prefecture, and slowly baked. It is a delicious dish that melts in your mouth, and its popularity is threatening last year's champion Mont Blanc. Also eyeing the champion is last year's runner-up, "Maebashi Akagi Roadside Station." It is a popular spot with a barbecue area and hot spring facilities, with an area of ​​1.5 Tokyo Domes. And the most popular gourmet dish at this roadside station, the roast beef bowl, won the runner-up prize last year. It is made with a generous amount of Gunma Prefecture's brand beef "Akagi beef," and is characterized by its rich flavor and juicy red meat. However, this time, it is said that they have decided not to bring back this popular menu. Instead, a secret weapon has appeared. It is the banana orchard "Maebashi Banana," a new specialty that was just born last year. Bananas are often associated with the tropics, but Maebashi City has long hours of sunlight, making it suitable for growing them. "The skin is thin, so there's no bitterness at all," said Kitamura Natsumi, Planning Division, Roadside Station Maebashi Akagi. This banana is a rare variety that can be eaten with the skin on. It has a rich, sticky flavor, and although it costs 550 yen a piece, it is so popular that it sells out as soon as it is put on the shelves. The menu item that will be competing using this new specialty is shaved ice. The banana shaved ice, developed for this competition, is garnished with plenty of bananas, skin and all. Visitor: "The skin is soft. It's delicious." "Japan's Hardest to Eat" Namie Town, Fukushima Prefecture The competition will be held over two days, and the grand prize will be decided by customer votes. One voting ticket will be included for every 1,000 yen of gourmet tickets, and the menu with the most votes will be the grand prize winner. This time, a bold menu that claims to be "Japan's Hardest to Eat" was featured as an unusual menu that made its first appearance in the Roadside Station Grand Prix and attracted attention. Overflowing from the bun is the "Namie Yakisoba," which once won the B-1 Grand Prix. It is a soul food with an exquisite combination of extra-thick noodles and rich sauce. This menu was created in Namie, Fukushima Prefecture, at a roadside station built as a symbol of the recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake. Why did they make the burger difficult to eat? At first, they considered using a yakisoba bun shape, but there were limitations to the ingredients that could be sandwiched between the burger. Namie Yakisoba Burger developer Seito Sato: "I thought that if we made it a yakisoba burger, we could put in a variety of ingredients and attract customers' attention, so we developed it." "The only way to make the most of the strongest B-class gourmet food and enjoy plenty of local ingredients such as vegetables is a burger," he thought, and created an impactful menu that was prepared for the difficulty of eating. However, the yakisoba spilled out, making it difficult to eat. As expected... Although it was a burger, we decided to serve it with chopsticks. Although it was difficult to eat, it was a fun dish. Visitors were eating with chopsticks from the beginning and saying, "It's delicious." Judging from the queue and the votes, it seems that Mont Blanc is dominant on the first day, followed by meat-wrapped rice balls and other menu items. ■ Results of the "Road-1 Grand Prix 2024" announced! It rained from the morning on the second day. Despite that, many customers came. When it gets cold, hot foods are very popular. The "Forest Mapo Tofu" at "Roadside Station Shitaraka" in Aichi Prefecture uses plenty of minced game venison. Steamed in the steaming water was mackerel. Fatty mackerel from Fukui Prefecture is steamed slowly in a bamboo steamer to give it a plump finish. The banana shaved ice was popular the day before, but the rain caused the temperature to drop and it is struggling... On the other hand, there was a particularly noticeable queue in the bad weather. The target was ramen. The soup, which tightly contains the flavor of chicken, pork, and vegetables from Tokushima Prefecture, is whipped just before the meal to make it even creamier. It is a rich soup that you will want to drink down. Even in the rain, there was a long line for last year's winner, the Extra Thin Mont Blanc. And the wait time for the meat-wrapped rice ball was a whopping 30 minutes. Finally, the results were announced. The Namie Yakisoba Burger was recognized for its originality, winning the Idea and Humor Award. Next, the Extra Thin Mont Blanc achieved its second consecutive victory. The seasonal fresh chestnuts proved to be a success. Manabe Toyomitsu: "There were so many delicious looking products, I was really nervous. Thank you very much!" The runner-up was Tokushima's Nishi-Awa style ramen, which was boosted by the drop in temperature. The meat-wrapped rice ball made with Awaji Wagyu beef came in third. It looks like the evolution of roadside station cuisine is still going to continue. [TV Asahi News] https://news.tv-asahi.co.jp