Denmark's Most Experienced Sushi Chef Zoë Escher

2019: Zoë was the judge for the daily newspaper Politiken in connection with testing food for their readers.
2016: Zoë held the official opening speech and opened the fair Formland Spring in Messecenter Herning in Denmark. At the opening of the fair there were 49 people from the press, 20 VIP and 271 exhibitors.
2015: Zoë has made sushi and Japanese dishes as private dining at home of US ambassador in Denmark Rufus Gifford.
2013: Rated as Denmark’s sushi expert no. 1 by gourmet supermarket chain Irma. Zoë was also guest judget at Masterchef Denmark season 3. Zoë has made sushi and Japanese dishes as staff food to the 3 star Michelin restaurant

Zoë is known from Danish magazines and TV such as Copenhagen Food, ALT for Damerne, Berlingske, Femina, IN, Mad & Bolig, TV3 and the consumer council magazine “THINK”.

Reference: Restaurant Geranium***, A.P. Møller – Mærsk, Hugo Boss Nordic, Novo Nordisk, Ikea, Novartis, Velux, Takeda Pharma, Haldore Topsøe, Dansk Byggeri, Deloitte, Gorrissen Federspiel, Beierholm revision, Symphogen and many more.

What types of meat does teriyaki sauce go with?

March 28, 2023March 24, 2023 by Zoë Escher

Japan is one of those countries that eats a lot of dipping, a kind of sauce to most dishes.

In classic Japanese cuisine, sauces are made to suit the dish in question. Dishes such as tempura, tonkatsu and okonomiyaki to name a few use sauces made for each dish.

However, this does not apply to all of Japanese cuisine. The Japanese kitchen is very very large. In Europe, only a fraction of classic Japanese cuisine is represented.

One of the Japanese sauces that more and more people in Europe have noticed is teriyaki sauce. Most people know the version that can be found in the supermarket. However, it tastes completely different from teriyaki sauce, which is made from scratch and served in restaurants in Japan.

One of the reasons for its popularity also in Japan is that it goes well with several types of meat. In Japan, it is most often eaten with chicken and fish dishes. It is also suitable for dishes with pork, vegetables or large prawns.

Teriyaki sauce made from scratch is a winner. It’s a sauce that most people eat with a spoon when they first taste it. The taste is deep, round, salty, sweet and has a perfect balance.

In the Traditional Japanese Food Course for Beginners, you will learn step by step how to make a teriyaki sauce from scratch, as it is served in Japan. A sauce that is suitable for starters, main courses and several types of meat.

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Zoë has lectured and held sushi courses for A. P. Moller – Maersk, Hugo Boss Nordic, Novo Nordisk, Novartis, Velux, Gorrissen Federspiel, Beierholm revision, Elbek & Vejrup and many more.

In Japan, what ingredients do sushi chefs use to make sushi rolls?

April 7, 2023March 21, 2023 by Zoë Escher

Sushi chefs in Japan have their very own definition of sushi. Sushi is vinegar-marinated rice with added local ingredients.
In Japan, you will often find Japanese sushi chefs that uses different types of fish and vegetables when they make sushi, and this applies to both nigiri and sushi rolls.

Japan is surrounded by the Pacific Ocean and you find many tropical fish in the area. Tropical fish that never reach European latitudes. Some of these fish are also used for sushi. There are types of fish that are best suited for nigiri, while others are used for both nigiri and sushi rolls.

In Japan, the selection of vegetables is large, there are many types of vegetables that cannot be found in Europe.
In Tokyo, Japanese sushi chefs make sushi rolls with either shiitake mushroom or pickled plum. These are not the only vegetables that sushi chefs use when they make sushi rolls.

If you travel to Japan, you should not be surprised if you are served a roll that contains raw materials that are not so common outside of Japan.
On the Sushi course for beginners, you learn step by step how to make tasty sushi from scratch with raw materials that are most in demand for sushi in Denmark.

Read more about Sushi course for beginners

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Zoë has lectured and held sushi courses for A. P. Moller – Maersk, Hugo Boss Nordic, Novo Nordisk, Novartis, Velux, Gorrissen Federspiel, Beierholm revision, Elbek & Vejrup and many more.

Which Japanese dish is best for an appetizer?

March 28, 2023March 15, 2023 by Zoë Escher

A classic Japanese dinner often consists of several courses, somewhere between 10-12 courses in size.

Some Japanese dishes are better suited as a starter than others. One of the most popular small dishes that are suitable for both a starter and a main course are Japanese gyoza. It is a dish that can be enjoyed all year round, with friends, family or on festive occasions.

Japanese gyoza originally originated in China. In China, goyza is called dumplings and the selection of dumplings in China is very, very large. Several hundred years ago, dumplings came to Japanese cuisine, where they were adapted with local ingredients and flavors to what we know today as gyoza.

On the Traditional Japanese cooking course for beginners, you learn how to make the classic version of gyoza from scratch. In addition to learning to use different cooking techniques and hand techniques, you also gain an insight into which ingredients you should use to get the most flavor and value for your money.

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Zoë has lectured and held sushi courses for A. P. Moller – Maersk, Hugo Boss Nordic, Novo Nordisk, Novartis, Velux, Gorrissen Federspiel, Beierholm revision, Elbek & Vejrup and many more.

Why does Japanese sushi taste different than in Denmark?

March 28, 2023March 7, 2023 by Zoë Escher

In Japan, sushi tastes in a completely different way than in Denmark.
I often meet people who ask what the reason for this could be.

There are several reasons for this.

In Japan, other fish, vegetables and ingredients are used to make sushi.
The Japanese sushi chefs use some other cooking techniques to cook sushi rice.
The Japanese sushi chefs use completely different cutting and hand techniques in the preparation of sushi.

Last but not least, Japanese sushi chefs have up to 35 years of experience in making sushi. You can of course wonder why it takes so many years to be trained as a Japanese sushi chef.

Japanese restaurant guests have very high demands on their food. The rice must be cooked to perfection and the fish, cut into silky slices that melt on the tongue.

In Japan, many sushi restaurants make minimalist sushi, where it’s basically just rice and fish. It makes great demands on the sushi chef’s skills, as you, as a guest, can taste everything.

At the Sushi course for beginners, you learn step by step how to make tasty sushi that you can enjoy with your loved ones.

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Zoë has lectured and held sushi courses for A. P. Moller – Maersk, Hugo Boss Nordic, Novo Nordisk, Novartis, Velux, Gorrissen Federspiel, Beierholm revision, Elbek & Vejrup and many more.

What is a Japanese Sushi handroll?

July 3, 2023February 28, 2023 by Zoë Escher

A Japanese Sushi handroll is not that widespread outside of Japan. In general, handrolls are not particularly widespread.

In Japan, Sushi handroll is considered a bit like a kind of fast food within sushi, and there are several reasons for this.

A Sushi handroll is easy to learn to make, it takes no more than 15 minutes. It is more rustic and level of hand techniques need to make handrolls and the presentation is not that high as is the case with sushi rolls or nigiri.

It takes no time to make Sushi handroll once you have learned the hand techniques. As soon as the order of the hand techniques is learned, it does not take many minutes to make handrolls.

In relation to raw materials, you can use as many raw materials as you like.

Sushi handrolls are perfect for lunch or dinner when time is short. It is also suitable for a cozy time with family or friends.

Several people have asked how to make Sushi handrolls and it has turned into a mini ebook: 5 Japanese sushi handrolls for one.

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Zoë has lectured and held sushi courses for A. P. Moller – Maersk, Hugo Boss Nordic, Novo Nordisk, Novartis, Velux, Gorrissen Federspiel, Beierholm revision, Elbek & Vejrup and many more.

Why are onigiri so popular in Japan?

July 3, 2023February 24, 2023 by Zoë Escher

In Japan, onigiri is such a popular dish that Japanese people wait for several hours to buy onigiri from some of the best restaurants in Tokyo.

Basically, onigiri consists of a rice triangle with a tasty filling and the rice triangle is wrapped in nori seaweed, nori seaweed that most people know from sushi.

There are several reasons why the Japanese like to wait for hours to buy the best onigiri.

In Japan, boiled rice is not just boiled rice. As with sushi, a virtue is made out of cooking rice to perfection. The quality of the cooked rice determines how good the onigiri tastes.

In Japan, there are restaurants with menus with up to 50 different onigiri with their very own unique filling. There are almost no limits to what fillings can be used for onigiri.

Just like with sushi, onigiri is made by hand. In Japan, restaurants have refined their techniques in such a way that customers line up to taste just their onigiri. They make onigiri that make the bird sing and send their customers to heaven.

In the mini e-book: 5 healthy Japanese onigiri for one, you learn step by step how to make tasty onigiri suitable for everyday use and lunch.

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Zoë has lectured and held sushi courses for A. P. Moller – Maersk, Hugo Boss Nordic, Novo Nordisk, Novartis, Velux, Gorrissen Federspiel, Beierholm revision, Elbek & Vejrup and many more.

That is why seaweed is a regular ingredient in Japanese cuisine!

March 28, 2023February 15, 2023 by Zoë Escher

In Japan, seaweed has always been part of Japanese cuisine. It is a staple food like grains in European cuisine.
Just like in Europe, there is not just one type of grains. There are many types of grains and some of them are better suited for pasta than bread.

The same applies to seaweed. In Europe, most people have opened their eyes to sushi seaweed, which is a booster when it comes to the amount of vitamins and minerals.

Seaweed has its origins in the Japanese cuisine of the poor. At that time, it was Japanese fishermen who collected the seaweed for use in cooking. The fishermen had no refrigerator, so to extend shelf life the seaweed was dried. Afterwards it was eaten with raw fish and rice.

In Japan, there are many different types of seaweed, which are used in many different dishes in Japanese cuisine. Nori is used for sushi, which is a specific type of seaweed that is primarily used for sushi.

On the Sushi Course for Beginners you will learn which type of sushi nori is best suited for sushi. You will also learn step by step how to make tasty sushi.

Read more about Sushi course for beginners

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Zoë has lectured and held sushi courses for A. P. Moller – Maersk, Hugo Boss Nordic, Novo Nordisk, Novartis, Velux, Gorrissen Federspiel, Beierholm revision, Elbek & Vejrup and many more.

Are there vegetarian and vegan noodle soups in Japan?

July 3, 2023February 9, 2023 by Zoë Escher

In Japan, there are also eateries that serve tasty vegetarian and vegan noodle soups with vegetables and vegetable proteins. However, these are dishes that are not as widespread as classic Japanese noodle soups that are either made with fish, pork or chicken.

Vegetarian and vegan noodle soups are an underrated dish in Japan as well. Often, a stock made from unique Japanese vegan ingredients will have a stronger flavor with more nuances of flavor. There are several reasons for this.

As most people know, a banana has several flavors depending on whether it is eaten when it is unripe, ripe or overripe. The same applies to other Japanese raw materials. This means that the same soup can taste very different depending on when in the season the ingredients are used to make the soup.

This also means that you can help decide how intense and deep the noodle soup flavor should be without the need for spices or additives.

Several people have asked how to make healthy and tasty vegetarian and vegan noodle soups. I have made this little mini ebook: 5 vegetarian Japanese noodle soups for one, where you learn step by step how to make tasty soups.

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Zoë has lectured and held sushi courses for A. P. Moller – Maersk, Hugo Boss Nordic, Novo Nordisk, Novartis, Velux, Gorrissen Federspiel, Beierholm revision, Elbek & Vejrup and many more.

That is why the most popular Japanese fast food is healthy!

March 28, 2023February 3, 2023 by Zoë Escher

Yes, it is true. The most popular fast food in Japan is very healthy. It is a dish that suits the busy everyday life which consists of long working days, family and free time.

On their way home from work, the Japanese like to visits one of the many Japanese noodle soup bars, which are located in almost every street.
A Japanese noodle soup that does not take many minutes to eat embraces the entire food pyramid. The soup base is made from scratch and noodles, meat and vegetables are then added. There is not just one noodle soup on the menu, most noodle soup bars specialize in making several different soups.

Often it will be recipes that have been passed down for generations. Other eateries have chosen to develop their own recipes. What characterizes a classic Japanese noodle soup is that local vegetables are used.

On the Japanese noodle soup course for beginners, you learn step by step how to make 2 very different tasty Japanese noodle soups from scratch.

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Zoë has lectured and held sushi courses for A. P. Moller – Maersk, Hugo Boss Nordic, Novo Nordisk, Novartis, Velux, Gorrissen Federspiel, Beierholm revision, Elbek & Vejrup and many more.

How often does salmon come to Copenhagen?

March 28, 2023January 31, 2023 by Zoë Escher

Salmon is a fish that has become very popular outside of Scandinavia in recent years. In recent years, Asia has become aware of how good the quality of salmon in Scandinavia is and part of the Scandinavian salmon ends up in, among other things Japan.

Denmark is the perfect spot when it comes to fresh salmon, which is suitable for cooking on a pan or eaten raw. Salmon arrives daily from Norway, Sweden and the Faroe Islands.
A few years ago, Faroese salmon that was farmed out in the sea only came to Denmark twice a week. That type of salmon is the most expensive and initially the demand was not that big. Since then, things have gone strong and Faroese salmon of high quality arrives in Denmark every single day.

On the Sushi course for beginners you learn more about which type of fish is best suited for sushi.

Read more about Sushi course for beginners

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Zoë has lectured and held sushi courses for A. P. Moller – Maersk, Hugo Boss Nordic, Novo Nordisk, Novartis, Velux, Gorrissen Federspiel, Beierholm revision, Elbek & Vejrup and many more.