Letter of Recommendation: FOOD⭐️STAR

Ever since we lost Japanese Style Originator from Netflix, I’ve been missing their deep-dive videos into traditional ways of making and doing things. Fortunately, I found FOOD⭐️STAR, which fills part of that gap for me. They’re particularly strong on artisan bakeries in Japan, both traditional and Western style ones, but they also feature wagashi (tea sweets) ateliers, yakitori bars, and other restaurants and small manufactories. They lean toward the ASMR class of vlog: there’s little to no commentary, and the processes are featured in their entirety with minimal cuts. So they truly are a deep dive. But I find them riveting (and the “Want to Go” flags on my Japan map are multiplying…). If you want to get started, I’d recommend this video on a bakery outside Kyotango City, and this one on cookie tins from a cafe in Kyōto.