Family Reheats Last Meal Cooked By Mum Before She Suffered Fatal Stroke
When our loved ones pass away, it’s only natural for us to hold on to things that remind us of them.
For one family in Japan who lost their mum, that ‘item’ was a meal she had cooked before suffering a fatal stroke. After her passing, the family decided to place the meal in the freezer to preserve it.
In 2018, 5 years after her passing, the family decided to reheat the meal she cooked prior to her demise.
The touching scene of a father-daughter pair finally digging into the meal was screened on Knight Scoop, a Japanese variety show. You can watch the 11-minute clip here in its original language. We summarise the story below.
‘Preserved’ last meal mother cooked in freezer
On the day of her mother’s passing, Mizuki recalled that she discussed with her mum what the family wanted for dinner, before deciding on a pork dish, reported Sin Chew Daily.
But upon returning home from school, Mizuki found her mother lying motionless on the ground.
Further examinations later found that Mizuki’s mum had suffered a fatal stroke.
Mizuki and her father then decided to preserve the pork dish in her memory by placing it in the freezer.
Father and daughter reheat meal 5 years after mother’s passing
Flash forward 5 years, Mizuki’s family decided it was finally time to reheat the last meal she had cooked for them.
The food was sent to a lab to certify it was indeed safe for consumption. Fortunately, it was — provided the meat was cooked above 100°C and eaten in small portions.
A chef was subsequently engaged to ‘restore’ the food while preserving its original flavours.
Rock solid food restored into a nostalgic dish
Given the long period that had passed, the dish was rock-solid when removed from the freezer.
But with the chef’s skills, the food was successfully ‘revived’ and presented like a restaurant-quality dish, with green garnish on the side.
A tearful first bite invokes memories
The family was understandably excited when the dish was presented to them, as both father & daughter exclaimed in delight. Then, it was time to dig in after slicing the pork into bite-sized pieces.
When Mizuki took her first mouthful, she exclaimed that tasted “yummy”, before admitting quietly,
Exactly like this, this is the taste.
But Mizuki’s joy soon turned into nostalgia as she savoured the familiar taste of her mother’s cooking. She added tearfully,
Just like 5 years ago, the same feeling.
As the camera panned out, a framed picture of her mother on a counter drew into focus.
The quietly moving scene continued to unfold as both father and daughter enjoyed the dish with rice, invoking more memories as they ate in silence.
Chef moved to tears at the touching scene
Later in the video, we see the chef who helped to restore Mizuki’s mum’s cooking wiping his eyes using a towel around his waist.
He too was moved to tears at the sincerity of the pair’s enjoyment of the meal, while observing them on the side.
Mizuki later thanked the chef profusely for allowing her and her father to partake in this touching tribute, half a decade after her passing.
A reminder for us to cherish those around us
We’re glad Mizuki got to taste her mum’s classic homecooked dish for the last time after all these years.
While the ‘reunion’ might have happened over 2 years ago, it’s still a timely reminder for us to cherish our loved ones while they’re still around.
As many of us are staying home during the outbreak, let’s take the opportunity to spend more time with our family.
The 2-month ‘Circuit Breaker’ passed within the blink of an eye, and the years ahead of us to spend with our loved ones could fly by as quickly too.
Featured image adapted from FC2 Video.
