Japan’s most popular televised chef, Harumi Kurihara, told GlobalAtlanta in a filmed interview that she is eager to spread awareness of Japanese home-style cooking internationally during her first visit to Atlanta Oct. 23-27.

Ms. Kurihara said that learning English is a key factor in going global.  She practiced her English during a filmed interview with GlobalAtlanta at a Buckhead home Oct. 25, but spoke mostly Japanese with Jessica Cork, adviser for educational and cultural affairs at the Consulate General of Japan in Atlanta, translating.

“Two years ago I couldn’t speak English,” said Ms. Kurihara, “so now I have to put my recipes in English all over the world.”

Japan's most popular televised chef, Harumi Kurihara, with GlobalAtlanta's Mike Rast Jr. and Li Wong, publisher of the Georgia Asian Times.

Going international is the next step for this housewife-turned-cooking sensation.  Ms. Kurihara has published dozens of cookbooks and journals in Japan and is the host of “Your Japanese Kitchen” on NHK Japan Broadcasting Corp., a large television station in Japan.

Her home-style techniques have struck a chord in the cooking world. Ms. Kurihara’s first cookbook published in English, “Harumi’s Japanese Cooking,” won best cookbook of the year in 2004 at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards, according to a press release.

Edouard Cointreau, chairman of the selection committee, said Ms. Kurihara “is the best example of the strongest trend in cook book today: a simple, down-to-earth approach to stylish living and eating.”

As of two years ago, Ms. Kurihara’s books had sold over 10 million copies worldwide, according to Mr. Cointreau.

The popularity of her simple but innovative ways of producing high quality homemade meals has led Ms. Kurihara to establish a chain of stores in Japan selling her brand of food products and cookware.

She was invited to Atlanta on the initiative of Noriko Takeda, professor of eastern languages at Emory University, who brought together the consulate general, the Japan-America Society of Georgia and the Japanese Chamber of Commerce in Georgia to support the visit.

Ms. Kurihara visited a Japanese language class at Emory University Oct. 23 and helped the students cook several simple dishes as part of the course’s cultural element.  She performed a public cooking demonstration at Emory Oct. 26.

During her visit, Ms. Kurihara was filming a documentary for NHK about bringing her style of home cooking to the U.S.  To emphasize this method, Ms. Kurihara was filmed cooking in private kitchens around the city as arranged by the Japan-America Society of Georgia.

Dr. Takeda said he hopes Ms. Kurihara’s visit will "raise awareness of Japanese food beyond sushi,” and that the documentary “will be able to expose the great place of Atlanta to Japan.”

Ms. Kurihara was never formally trained as a chef but learned to cook from her mother.  She is famous for incorporating Western ingredients into her Japanese dishes, a style she developed while preparing meals for her family.

Many American mothers will identify with the way Ms. Kurihara develops some of her recipes.  “I always open the refrigerator and see the leftovers,” she said.

She now travels all over the world to experience different styles of cooking.  Ms. Kurihara expressed an interest in incorporating influences from Southern cooking into her cuisine and said that Atlanta is the “perfect place” to learn that style.

Like many Southern cooks, Ms. Kurihara prides herself on her recipe for fried chicken.  When her father complained that he did not like the traditional way of frying chicken, Ms. Kurihara created a leek sauce that not only met with her father’s approval but also became one of her signature recipes.

Ms. Kurihara broke through her charming humility just enough to admit that her second English cookbook, “Harumi’s Japanese Home Cooking,” published in 2006, is selling very well.  She added that a third book is in the works and will be the first that is developed entirely outside of Japan in London.

Ms. Kurihara said that her future work will focus more on Japanese cooking without the Western influences, in order to help preserve that tradition for future generations.

The documentary filmed in Atlanta will air Dec. 12 and will be available for viewing on NHK’s Web site.