Lesson Report: Special Five-Week Course (Part1: 17-day Sushi)
Oct 30, 2024
This article highlights the 5-Week Special Culinary Training Course, held from April to May, for Peter, a Hungarian-born chef who now works as a renowned head chef specializing in French cuisine on a super yacht.
This time, he seeks to expand his repertoire by learning a diverse range of Japanese cuisine, including sushi, yakitori, izakaya, and ramen, to offer a greater variety of dishes for his guests.
We hope the course provides him with ample inspiration and creative ideas for his work.
Our school also offers private lessons tailored to meet individual student needs.
The Sushi Session begins with an orientation.
Peter aims to learn the fundamental techniques of traditional sushi to serve high-quality and delicious nigiri, maki, and sashimi.
He is also eager to master thick rolls, such as California rolls, which are popular among children.
He mentions that he previously attempted to make sushi rolls by following YouTube videos, but the results were disappointing.
Now, he hopes to use this opportunity to learn the proper technique for making sushi rolls.
Next, he learns the entire process of preparing sushi rice, including understanding the characteristics of the rice, gently rinsing it, and cooking it.
He mentions that while Japanese rice is available in Europe, it is difficult to find rice of such high quality.
Now, he realizes that proper rinsing and cooking significantly enhance the flavor.
Now he moves on to the main focus of the course: the basics of nigiri.
Since he has limited knowledge of sushi, he is first advised to apply vinegar to his hands before making nigiri.
Although making nigiri may seem simple, it requires deep technique.
He is tasked with shaping a number of sushi rice without fish to maintain consistency in size and shape.
Sushi chefs often say they must practice and refine their skills daily, continually improving until the day they retire.
We look forward to seeing the remarkable improvement in his skills by the end of the Sushi Session.
Afterward, the instructor demonstrates fish filleting, explaining key points such as understanding the upper and lower parts of the fish, cutting the fish into three pieces, and removing the skin.
While the demonstration makes it look easy, there’s a big difference between watching and actually doing it.
To conclude the first day, the instructor briefly demonstrates how to make nigiri, thin rolls, and gunkan using the fish he just filleted.
Peter will work to master these skills throughout the Sushi Session.
From the second day and afterward, Peter prepares sushi rice every day under the guidance of the instructor.
He manages to prepare sushi rice more and more efficiently by himself as the days go by.
He is tasked with shaping more than 50 sushi rice balls every day to train his muscle memory for the correct finger movements and to maintain consistency in size and shape.
Though it’s a somewhat tedious task, he stays focused on practice, knowing that once the super yacht begins cruising, he won’t have time to refine his skills.
We hope he continues honing his skills in his spare time after returning to his home country.
In addition, he fillets various types of fish daily.
Since most fish share a similar bone structure, they can be filleted in the same way.
By deepening his understanding of single-bevel knives, he will learn to fillet more efficiently.
In Japanese cuisine, minimizing waste and using ingredients thoughtfully is essential. Proper fish filleting is also crucial for making good sushi.
The better he becomes at filleting, the easier it will be to slice the fish into pieces, ultimately resulting in more delicious nigiri.
Peter samples a sushi assortment platter crafted by the instructor.
While it will be a long journey to match the instructor’s skill level, with dedication and effort, he can certainly get closer.
The key is to master the basics. Keep up the great work, Peter!
On this day, Peter visits the local fish market in Yokohama with the instructors.
Although he frequently visits fish markets in Europe, he has never seen one of this scale.
Fascinated by the variety of fish, he eagerly asks many questions.
A wholesaler even kindly allows him to hold a knife used for dissecting tuna.
It’s the final day of the Sushi Session, and Peter has made remarkable progress.
He can now prepare sushi rice on his own, a significant improvement from the first day.
He also maintains consistency in the size and shape of his sushi rice balls. While he still needs more practice in filleting fish, he has shown steady improvement.
Additionally, the sushi rolls he crafts are shaped well.
Drawing on the skills and knowledge he has gained, he even comes up with ideas for original rolls to entertain children.
How do you like them?
Students have the opportunity not only to observe the operations at our partnered sushi restaurant but also to serve sushi to real customers as part of their hands-on training.
The lessons are typically filled with laughter and cheer, but as expected, Peter appears a bit nervous. Nonetheless, he does his best to craft sushi, and the customers are pleased with his work, offering him warm words of encouragement.
It was an intensive 17-day special private sushi course.
Peter has urchased a variety of tools and equipment for sushi making.
The instructors and staff hope he will continue to refine the skills he has mastered.
That wraps up the Sushi Session, followed by the Izakaya and Ramen Sessions. Enjoy your Washoku culinary journey!
