- Akio Toyoda so loves donuts that he made them the subject of the commencement address he gave at Babson College in 2019.
- Toyoda wanted a way to enjoy donuts without feeling guilty about them.
- Noted chef, Koji Fujiharu, created gluten-free, soy-based donuts that are now being made in a hydrogen-powered food truck.
Akio Toyoda, the chairman of Toyota Motor Corporation, is a little unusual among high-powered executives, in that he has an alter ego: the racecar driver, Morizo. And under that pseudonym, his signature move is the donut – the tire-spinning kind, not Homer Simpson’s glazed variety.
However, Toyoda’s obsession of donuts goes beyond smoky circles on the racetrack. Ever since studying at Babson College in the U.S., he discovered a love for the real deal – the kind you dunk in coffee, not drift around corners in. So enamored is he with the confectionery treat that he made them the subject of his commencement address at the college in 2019.
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Like many, he wished that there was a way to enjoy more donuts without feeling guilty. Fortunately, Toyoda is a man of many means, and not just financially speaking. As the head of a major motor corporation, he was in a position to make it happen, and has done so with the help of Toyota’s hydrogen engineering team, and Koji Fujiharu, the head chef and owner of Epicure, in Tokyo.
At his restaurant, Fujiharu makes foods using unusual ingredients for people with food allergies, reports Toyota Times. So he was the perfect person to make a donut that was a little less indulgent, while being no less delicious.
Fujiharu’s donuts don’t use milk or eggs, but instead uses syrup, soy milk, and konjac, as well as the soy pulp that is a byproduct of the tofu-making process. That means that the donuts are gluten-free and green, because they make use of a product that would just be thrown out otherwise.
The result is a batter that is left to sit so it can fully hydrate. That means that although the donuts are deep-fried, they absorb very little oil during cooking. Served alongside a raspberry and a chocolate soy butter, they look pretty good and, indeed, impress Toyoda.
Meanwhile, the truck that is used to make the donuts is run using a hydrogen fuel cell, which means it emits almost no local emissions. Officially dubbed “Morizo Donuts,” the sweet treat is going on tour across Japan, to show that green technologies can be used to spread joy.
