Chef’s cutting board
Authenticity of the dining experience
Cultural News, June 2007
By Andy Matsuda
After having trained over 500 sushi chefs at my classes over the past five years, I am still confronted by a very touchy issue: authenticity of the Japanese dining experience.
Despite the fact that a large number of skilled non-Japanese sushi chefs are accepted in the food service industry, many of the most successful sushi restaurants are still seeking out and maintaining a Japanese sushi chef in the head position.
When an entire sushi restaurant is run by all non-Japanese employees, customers will still see what is being served as proper Japanese sushi if they recognize that the head chef of the restaurant is Japanese.
When a Japanese is not present as the head chef, customers tend to feel that the sushi being served lacks authenticity no matter how skillful the chefs are.
Hence, perception is one of the keys to being successful, particularly in the restaurant business.
A sushi restaurant chain can be successful in persuading its customers to recognize Japanese authenticity by emphasizing its founder’s name. Although this kind of arrangement does not work for every eatery, restaurateurs may be inspired in finding solutions to this perception issue with this same guideline.
This month alone, I was asked to give advice to newly opened restaurants in Temecula of California,
We have also received requests from around the world to visit and become a consultant to restaurants that are looking to expand and run a proper sushi bar, including a few in
It is extremely gratifying to not only know the influence we have had, but to recognize the growing popularity sushi is having in the global community.
Andy Matsuda is founder and Chief Instructor of the Sushi Chef Institute in
(The text was completed by Gavin Kelley.)