Japan is notorious for its high-end food items – particularly fruit. It’s not uncommon, for example, to find stores selling a bunch of grapes for around USD $20 – or even a melon for around $200. But this week, a dessert manufacturer decided to give Japanese fruit a run for its money with an exotic, limited-time offer.
The Truffle Cheesecake
Hard-core Japan fans and residents may already be familiar with Mr. Cheesecake. The brainchild of award-winning chef Tamura Kouji (田村浩二), “Misu-chi” (ミスチ) is an online-only retailer. It only sells cheesecake. And it only sells its goods twice a week – and it quickly sells out its stock. According to morning program Sukkiri! on Japan’s NTV, the store got its start when Tamura, who cooked cheesecake as “a hobby,” received tons of positive comments on pictures of his creations on his Instagram.
Mr. Cheesecake’s product is pretty high end by default. A regular serving in a cooler bag costs ￥3,456 (around USD $$33.50). Want that in a box instead? That’ll be ￥4,320, thank you very much.
The store, however, seemed to outdo itself this week with a limited-time offer lasting from November 4th to 5th. Introducing Misuchi’s White Truffle Cheesecake, which contains a full 10-gram white truffle. Tamura sold this gem for a jaw-dropping ¥21,600 – around USD $209!!
“This is Food Terrorism!”
So…was it worth it? The Sukkiri! staff to find out first hand. The verdict: Damn delicious. Of course, their enjoyment may have something to do with the fact that the program paid for it…
A few Twitter users, however, did pay for it and are now anxiously awaiting their orders. (Deliveries will be made sometime between the end of November and the top of December.) Other users seemed sorely tempted, with user @19_yunayuna decrying the Sukkiri! segment as “food terrorism.”
The popularity of Mr. Cheesecake is no surprise in a country where many people say they enjoy food more than sex and where Instagram accounts are stuffed full of delicious-looking food porn. Chef Tamura appears to have found a successful business model – and one uniquely suited to surviving the pandemic.
Would you pay $200 for high-end cheesecake? Leave your thoughts in the comments!
