NHK cooking show confirmed by Guinness as longest running

Oct 07, 2023 | News On Japan

Oct 07, 2023 (NHK) - An NHK program with a 65-year history has been certified by Guinness World Records as the longest-running TV cooking show.

A certificate was presented to the staff of the program "Kyou no Ryouri," or "Today's Cooking," at a ceremony in Tokyo on Friday.

The program was first aired on November 4, 1957, and has featured about 46,600 recipes so far.

The dishes have reflected the changing times. The serving size of a recipe was reduced from the initial five people to four in 1965, and then to the current two, as the size of families gets smaller.

The first recipe introduced in the program was Western-style curry and rice with oysters. In the 1950s, when one in four people in Japan was reportedly malnourished, people were attracted by Western dishes.

During the oil crisis of the 1970s, the budget for a recipe for four people was set at mere 500 yen, or slightly over 3 dollars at the current exchange rate.

As more women have entered the workforce since the 1980s, themes such as "time-saving recipes" and "men's dishes" have become popular.

Chief producer Yanai Mayumi, who has been in charge of the program for more than 30 years, said the program has aimed to provide healthy recipes over 65 years. She added that she hopes the program will keep giving viewers tips on what to eat.

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