Thanks to a series of scandals, Snow Brand Dairy Products has seen one subsidiary fall and its image seriously damaged, but that's not the worst of it. Last Sunday, "Ryori Banzai," one of Japanese TV's longest-running cooking shows, signed off forever with a long, tearful thank-you speech. Ever since its inception several decades ago, the show's sole sponsor was . . . Snow Brand.
This Sunday, "Banzai" 's time slot is taken up by a brand-new food show, "Meals at the Hidden House: The Restaurant With No Menu" (TV Asahi, 6 p.m.). Less a cooking show than a talk show about food, the premise is suitably contrived. Set in an old Western-style restaurant in a remote corner of a major Japanese city, the series drips sophistication. The restaurant is so exclusive, in fact, that it can only accommodate one patron a night. Not only that, but the patrons are always "top people in their respective fields," with discerning tastes to match their reputations.
Popular actor Masahiko Nishimura plays the restaurant owner cum series host. His "young wife," played by Kei Yoshida, is always on hand to lend the proceedings a feminine touch, and impressionist Akimasa Haraguchi plays the comic maitre d'. Each week's guest is presented with a menu tailored to his or her "special attributes." The guest and Nishimura discuss the meals as they eat.