Japanese Food Kobe beef croquettes: waiting period of 43 years

[thomas]

Asahiya, a butcher shop in Takasago City, Hyogo, is famous for its speciality croquettes made with top-grade Kobe beef. These croquettes are so renowned that the waiting time for delivery has grown to 43 years. The store has a long, invisible line of customers, and the croquettes can be ordered online only. There is no limit to the number of croquettes in one order, but sales are limited to 200 per day, so reservations are piling up. As of the end of 2023, 63,000 people were on the waiting list.

Mainichi/Nobuya Muramoto​

The handmade croquette is named "Kiwami" (lit. "the height of" or "ultimate"). It is filled with cubes of meat from 3-year-old female Kobe beef cattle, said to be especially tender and tasty even among the highest grade "A5" beef. The recipe also includes the "Red Andes" potato variety, which has a high sugar content to match the taste of the meat, and onions from Awaji Island, also in Hyogo. Some 30 grams of Kobe beef is used for each croquette, priced at 540 JPY apiece for the time being (about USD 3.70 as of January 2024, but who knows 38 years later?). They are available only in sets of five. "The meat alone is about 900 JPY (USD 6.20) per croquette. A chef friend of mine said, 'If they were served at a restaurant, they would be priced at 2,500 JPY each,'" said a jovial Shigeru Nitta, the 59-year-old, third-generation shop manager founded in 1926.

Order now, get Kobe beef croquettes 38 yrs later: Delivery time growing at Japan butcher - The Mainichi

TAKASAGO, Hyogo -- Croquettes using top-grade Kobe beef at a butcher shop here are so popular that the delivery time on orders has grown to 38 years.

mainichi.jp

If you are patient, you can order the croquettes using the link below. The Mainichi article mentions a waiting period of 38 years. The website states 43 years.

【約46年待ち】神戸ビーフコロッケ「極み」5個入 【代金引換・ご自宅お届け限定】冷凍発送限定 | 神戸牛専門店 旭屋

【約46年待ち】神戸ビーフコロッケ「極み」5個入 【代金引換・ご自宅お届け限定】冷凍発送限定 コロッケ 神戸牛専門店 旭屋

www.asahiya-beef.com

 

[dracuella]

Does Japan have such an abundance of Kobe beef that it is put into something as simple as a croquette now? It may just be me but I think that's a bit of a waste. I love a good コロッケ as much as the next person but it most certainly doesn't have to contain Kobe beef to live up to my expectations. It's like dipping petrol station sushi in your artisanal, 20 year aged shoyu.

 

[mdchachi]

Asahiya, a butcher shop in Takasago City, Hyogo, is famous for its speciality croquettes made with top-grade Kobe beef. These croquettes are so renowned that the waiting time for delivery has grown to 43 years. The store has a long, invisible line of customers, and the croquettes can be ordered online only. There is no limit to the number of croquettes in one order, but sales are limited to 200 per day, so reservations are piling up. As of the end of 2023, 63,000 people were on the waiting list.

View attachment 110883
Mainichi/Nobuya Muramoto​

Order now, get Kobe beef croquettes 38 yrs later: Delivery time growing at Japan butcher - The Mainichi

TAKASAGO, Hyogo -- Croquettes using top-grade Kobe beef at a butcher shop here are so popular that the delivery time on orders has grown to 38 years.

mainichi.jp

If you are patient, you can order the croquettes using the link below. The Mainichi article mentions a waiting period of 38 years. The website states 43 years.

【約46年待ち】神戸ビーフコロッケ「極み」5個入 【代金引換・ご自宅お届け限定】冷凍発送限定 | 神戸牛専門店 旭屋

【約46年待ち】神戸ビーフコロッケ「極み」5個入 【代金引換・ご自宅お届け限定】冷凍発送限定 コロッケ 神戸牛専門店 旭屋

www.asahiya-beef.com

Sounds like a good marketing ploy to sell a lot of grade A4 和牛 croquettes while people wait on the A5 list.

 

[dracuella]

It's also not a bad way to build reputation and renown. Even if they can't remember the name of the store, a customer can always google who has the 43 year waiting list for croquettes - and try what else the store has to offer.
As long as the queue outside is considerably shorter than the virtual one ^^

 

[nice gaijin]

What if I'm not feeling like croquettes in 40+ years?

My grandchildren are looking forward to their inheritance: a spot in line for beef croquette delivery