Gourmet Festival Serving Local "Air" Held; "Origin Fraud" Allegations Spark Outrage But No Actual Smoke

Despite rumors of “exhaust gas contamination,” the 20,000 yen “Morning Mist Terrine” sold out completely. Guests took photos of empty plates with their smartphones, tearing up and saying, “It tastes like rich nothingness.” The organizer boasts it as “the ultimate form of SDGs,” but trash cans at the venue were overflowing with wrappers of convenience store rice balls eaten in secret.

The “1st Kirikasumi Air Gastronomy Festival” held in Kirikasumi City closed its curtains on the 7th amidst unprecedented frenzy. Touted as “zero transport cost,” “zero waste loss,” and “zero calories,” this event went viral on social media as the ultimate sustainable experience, and the venue was packed with wealthy people and influencers rushing from the city center. The main dish was “Morning Mist Terrine, Aether Style,” featuring air collected (allegedly) from a local mountain peak served on a plate. In the silence where only the sound of cutlery hitting porcelain plates echoed, participants carefully cut the invisible food, carried it to their mouths, and wore expressions of ecstasy.

“I didn’t know that having nothing in my mouth could be so rich,” said a male IT company executive (42) from Tokyo. Staring at his empty fork, he praised it, saying, “It tastes like detoxing from urban noise. The aftertaste is clearer than tap water.” Meanwhile, at another table, a gourmet was seen demanding the chef to “re-grill” (the act of holding the plate in the air and swinging it around) because the served air was “too damp from yesterday’s rain.” “Air pairing,” which was just deep breathing for an additional charge of 5,000 yen, was reportedly ordered incessantly at the venue.

However, clouds of suspicion hung over this noble event. Local residents pointed out one after another, “The wind direction is bad today. Exhaust from the neighboring industrial park must be flowing in.” On social media, the hashtag “#FakedOriginAir” trended, and criticisms erupted such as “Isn’t this roadside exhaust gas instead of morning mist?” and “PM2.5 content is not displayed.” In response, the representative of the organizer “Atmosphere Dining” was chased for an excuse at a press conference, saying, “We have established wind traceability. That is not exhaust, but the spice of civilization.”

An even more ironic situation was happening behind the scenes. It was an event that promised “spiritual fullness,” but it seems it couldn’t beat physical hunger. Recycling boxes installed on the perimeter of the venue were overflowing with wrappers of “tuna mayo rice balls” and “fried chicken” from convenience stores brought in secretly, ironically generating a large amount of plastic waste. A female participant (26) secretly stuffing her cheeks with fried chicken in front of a trash can said, wiping her mouth, “Air alone looks good on social media, but my blood sugar didn’t go up and I couldn’t stop shaking. Lipid is necessary to bring out the taste of nothingness.”

The organizer is enthusiastic about the next event, considering “takeout sales of ‘vacuum’ with even higher purity.” The “vacuum pack” scheduled to be sold for 30,000 yen per bag is literally completely empty inside, but For modern people pursuing the “luxury of not owning,” there would be no luggage lighter than this. They say there’s no smoke without fire, but it became a strange festival of modern society where only flaming controversies rose from insubstantial cuisine.

Stakeholder Comments

• Participating Influencer: “Can you feel this sizzle of ‘Nothingness’ without a filter? It’s the era where everyone eats air!”
• Executive Chef: “To maximize the taste of the ingredients, I arrived at a cooking method of not cooking. My job is just to place the plates.”
• Local Farmer: “If you can make money with air, what are our vegetables? Well, as long as it’s harmless, it’s fine.”
• Venue Cleaner: “The trash cans are filled with the smell of fried chicken. Is this the scent of SDGs?”
• Weather Forecaster: “Judging from the wind direction on the day, that is definitely exhaust from the chemical factory in the neighboring town.”
• Convenience Store Manager: “Rice ball sales at the store near the venue are up 500% year-on-year. Thanks to the event.”
• Plate: “It’s been a while since I was poked with cutlery without anything on me. It tickles.”
• Lungs: “I’m tired because I was breathed more consciously than usual.”
• Environmental Activist: “It’s the rampage of capitalism charging for breathing! Air belongs to everyone!”
• Stray Cat: “Humans sometimes look like they are chasing prey we can’t see.”

International Expressions

Haiku

• On the empty plate / Even with nothing on it / Taste of spring remains
• Ten thousand yen / Paid just to eat a draft of wind / Through gap of my teeth
• Aiming for the gram / Piercing with a silver fork / Only vanity
• Exhaust gas fumes / Called a spice by the master / Sweat of the poor chef
• Stomach bug cries out / Even though eating air of love / Still cannot be filled
• Full stomach feeling / Mistaken for number of likes / On social media
• Hidden in the bin / Rice ball wrappers pile up high / Taste of guilty sin
• Origin is fake / Asking the wind for answers / No reply comes back
• Chewing on nothing / Shedding tears of gratitude / While stomach is void
• Shouting SDGs / With oil around the mouth corners / From fried chicken grease

Kanji / Chinese Characters

Empty Plate Two Man Void Cuisine Sold Out Guest Tears Photo Exhaust Mix Doubt Organizer Excuse Backstage Wrapper Pile Civilization Spice Vacuum Pack Plan

Emoji

🍽️🌬️💸📸😋🚫🍖➡️🗑️🍙👀💦🏭🍃🤫🤐

Onomatopoeia

Clink Clink (Sound of tableware) Silence… (Chewing sound?) Click! Click! (Shutter sound) Grrr… (Stomach sound) Rustle Rustle (Sound of opening rice ball secretly) Whoosh Whoosh (Wind of suspicion)

SNS

• #AirGastronomy
• #MorningMistTerrineTasting
• #BeyondZeroCalories
• #JewelBoxOfTaste (Empty)
• #20000YenDeepBreath
• #EatingSDGs
• #FakedOriginAir
• #Hungry
• #CuisineInvisibleToFreeUsers
• #ConsciousLunch