Pepper Lunch

Pepper Lunch Restaurant in Oji (王子店), Northern Tokyo.

Pepper Lunch Restaurant in Shunde, China

Pepper Lunch (ペッパーランチ, Peppā-ranchi) is a "fast-steak" restaurant franchise popular in the Tokyo area. There are 226 restaurants in Japan, 23 in South Korea and Hong Kong, 33 in China, 6 in Taiwan, 7 in Malaysia, 9 in Australia, 42 in Indonesia, 16 in Thailand, 36 in Singapore, 2 in Macau, 6 in Vietnam, and 30 in Philippines, as well as 2 branches in Canada.

Pepper Lunch is a subsidiary of Pepper Food Service Co., Ltd.^[1] The restaurant's international operations are managed by Suntory F&B International.^[2]

History

A typical interior of a Pepper Lunch restaurant. (Photo: Powerplant Mall branch, Philippines)

Pepper Lunch was created in 1994 by chef and inventor Kunio Ichinose, who wanted to serve quality fast food without hiring a chef. He devised a method using hot metal plates that are heated to 500 degrees Fahrenheit (260 Celsius) by an electromagnetic cooker. The raw meat with vegetables and/or rice are then placed on the plates, where they cook in front of the customer. The meat can be eaten rare or well done, depending on the customer's preference. The meal is then mixed with a choice of either the special honey brown sauce (Amakuchi) or garlic soy sauce (Karakuchi).^[3]

Incidents

E. coli O157 poisoning

In September 2009, all branches in Japan temporarily closed after 38 customers of age from 2 to 81 suffered from food poisoning. The cause was E. coli O157 poisoning, which spread throughout 19 stores among 14 prefectures in Japan. A supplier of diced beefsteak was ordered to recall the E. coli-affected product.^[4]

References