Pepper Lunch
 | |
Native name | ペッパーランチ |
|---|---|
| Company type | Public |
| TYO: 3053 | |
| Industry | Restaurants |
| Founded | 1994 |
| Founder | Kunio Ichinose |
| Headquarters | Tokyo, Japan |
Key people | Kunio Ichinose (chef) |
| Products | Steak, chicken, salmon, carbonated and other beverages |
| Website | pepperlunch |
Pepper Lunch (ペッパーランチ, Peppā-ranchi) is a Japanese "fast-steak" restaurant franchise popular in the Tokyo area.
Pepper Lunch is a subsidiary of Pepper Food Service Co., Ltd.[1] The restaurant's Southeast Asian operations are formerly managed by Suntory F&B International[2] (in Asia) and Former Oishii Group in Australia and the U.S. Since April 2023, Asia, Australia and U.S. restaurants are managed by Hotpalette.
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 °F (260 °C) 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]
Branches
Pepper Lunch has a total of 165 branches in Japan and 325 branches overseas:
- Indonesia: 64
- Philippines: 59
- Thailand: 49
- Singapore: 39
- China: 33
- Hong Kong: 21
- Vietnam: 14
- Australia: 11
- Malaysia: 6
- Taiwan: 6
- Macau: 6
- United States: 6
- Cambodia: 5
- Canada: 3
- Brunei: 2
- Myanmar: 1
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.[4]
References
- ^ "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). 2014. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
- ^ "SFBI | Suntory F&B International". Suntory F&B International. 2014. Archived from the original on 15 February 2014. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
- ^ "About Pepper Lunch". SFBI (Asia-Pacific) Pte. Ltd. Pepper Lunch Singapore. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
- ^ "E. coli shuts Pepper Lunch steakhouse chain nationwide". The Japan Times. Kyodo News. 8 September 2009. Retrieved 15 February 2014.