Chef’s cutting board

Tex Wasabi’s Rock-N-Roll Sushi-BBQ

 

Cultural News, May 2007

 

 

By Andy Matsuda

 

    Recently I got a glimpse of the new line-up for the Food Network television program and saw that Guy Fieri was hosting a show.  Guy is an interesting restauranteur.  A few years ago, along with his partners, he owned six restaurants. 

 

   One in the Santa Rosa area was not doing well.  Rather than close it down, he took Texas barbeque to Northern California and then came down to take some private sushi lessons from me. 

 

    He then re-invented his Santa Rosa restaurant into a Texas BBQ and sushi bar called “Tex Wasabi’s Rock-N-Roll Sushi-BBQ.”  Guy subsequently hired Chef Carl, another one of my former students, and has now opened up a second location of Tex Wasabi in Sacramento.

 

    It is really gratifying to see the success of former students, particularly on such a large scale as the Food Network.

 

    As I mentioned last month, we started some new on-site classes and workshops for entry level chefs and customers who wanted to learn more about sushi.  Well, this month we’ve got two weekends set up in the San Francisco Marine District at restaurant Yuzu.

 

   We’ll hold morning sessions on May 19, 20, 26 and 27 for restaurant professionals, and then afternoon workshops for customers, giving them a chance to play sushi chef and handle rice as they learn how to roll and cut.

 

   I am also looking for a venue for a charity event where we could provide a sea urchin menu with koto music accompaniment.  A few years ago, we prepared a 10-foot tall tower of sushi and helped to raise funds for a senior citizen organization. We charged $5 a plate and brought in over $1,500. The success of this event has sparked my interest in continuing to help for needy causes.

 

  Andy Matsuda is founder and Chief Instructor of the Sushi Chef Institute in Los Angeles. www.sushischool.net

(This text was completed by Gavin Kelley)