Pepper Lunch

Pepper Lunch (ペッパーランチ, Peppā-ranchi) is a Japanese "fast-steak" restaurant franchise.

Pepper Lunch

Native name	ペッパーランチ
Type	Public KK
Traded as	TYO: 3053 NASDAQ: KPFS
Industry	Restaurants
Founded	1994 (1994)
Headquarters	Tokyo, Japan
Key people	Kunio Ichinose (founder)
Products	Steak, chicken, carbonated and other beverages
Website	pepperlunch.com

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

Pepper Lunch Restaurant in Shunde, China

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

History

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]

Restaurants

There are over 500 restaurants throughout Asia-Pacific and North America.

Country	Restaurant count
Japan	226
South Korea	23
Hong Kong	26
China	73
Taiwan	15
Philippines	30
Malaysia	7
Australia	11
Cambodia	5
Indonesia	40
Thailand	42
Singapore	63
Macau	6
Vietnam	16
Canada	3
Brunei	2
United States	5[4]
Guam	1
Total	594

Incidents

E. coli O157 poisoning

In September 2009, all branches in Japan temporarily closed after 38 customers, aged 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.[5]

References

1. "ホーム | 株式会社ペッパーフードサービス". 株式会社ペッパーフードサービス (in Japanese). 株式会社ペッパーフードサービス. 2014. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
2. "SFBI | Suntory F&B International". Suntory F&B International. Suntory F&B International. 2014. Archived from the original on 15 February 2014. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
3. "About Pepper Lunch". SFBI (Asia-Pacific) Pte. Ltd. Pepper Lunch Singapore. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
4. https://www.ocweekly.com/japanese-chain-pepper-lunch-brings-its-meals-on-superheated-cast-iron-plates-to-irvine/
5. "E. coli shuts Pepper Lunch steakhouse chain nationwide". The Japan Times. Kyodo News. 8 September 2009. Retrieved 15 February 2014.