Viva Films’ sister company taps Japan’s 7 Samurai Iron Chefs

MANILA, Philippines — Botejyu Philippines, a restaurant owned by Viva International Food & Restaurants Inc., an affiliate company of Viva Entertainment Group, has recently partnered with Japan’s 7 Samurai Iron Chefs.

The 7 Samurai Iron Chefs is comprised of “select group of master chefs known for their expertise and creativity in Japanese cuisine.”

The vice president and chief operating officer (COO) of Botejyu Japan Kazunori Kouyama, Ramen Samurai Iron Chef Masahiro Ito, Donburi Samurai Iron Chef Yoshihito Iwamoto, along with Botejyu Philippines general manager Rhodelia Bala and marketing head Drei Francisco, shared during the collaboration launching at Botejyu - Estancia Mall in Pasig City on what to expect from the newly minted partnership.

Botejyu is also one of the venues where the press conferences and entertainment events of Viva Films are frequently held.

“Since Botejyu is owned here in the Philippines by the Viva Foods, which is also a sister company of Viva Films and the rest of the Viva Group of Companies and most of the time the press conferences that you have been attending with the members of the press and all our friends from the media, they can expect that they’ll be able to taste different kinds of food in the next coming months as we launched the new menu for the Botejyu,” Francisco told The STAR.

“We are really hoping that we will be able to launch this one as early as this month or April so that our friends and also our customers will be able to enjoy a different sets of menu every time that we will be holding press conferences for all the films that under Viva Films,” he continued.

The president and COO of Viva International Food & Restaurants Inc. VR Del Rosario said in a statement that they are “incredibly excited” with the collaborative journey that they inked with the 7 Samurai Iron Chefs. “Their unparalleled expertise and passion for Japanese cuisine align perfectly with our own commitment to culinary excellence. Together, we aim to push the boundaries of food innovation while staying true to the rich heritage that defines Botejyu.”

Bala, on the other hand, has noted that the food company hasn’t changed their menus since 2018. “So it’s about time we introduce new items in our menu,” she announced. “We’re turning eight this coming July, so with the span of how many years, even the pandemic, it’s the same menu.

“So to really excite our loyal fans, we wanted to really give them authentic (cuisine) and also with the help of our 7 Samurai Iron Chefs, we will give them an extensive menu. There will be 44 categories so it will be a spread (menu).”

Kouyama, through an English-Tagalog interpreter, said that five more chefs will be flying to the Philippines to further facilitate the collaboration where “Filipinos will taste the real, authentic Japanese food.”

“The system (process) that we have from Japan, we brought it here in the Philippines. The coming menus will be exclusive for the 7 Samurai Iron Chefs,” he maintained.

They also teased that they will incorporate Filipino and Japanese fusion into their menu. “Sinigang or kalamansi soup. I think with sinigang, kaya yung fusion (like) sinigang ramen,” mentioned Ito.

“We’ve tried adobo and sisig and we are thinking na magkakaroon ng fusion of food,” offered Kouyama and reiterated that they will try to come up with new dishes to combine the Filipino and Japanese flavors soon.

Formed in 1946 in Tamade, Osaka by Eikichi Nishino, it now has 85 branches across the Philippines.