culinary school

Who is Toshi my sushi chef teacher?

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Toshi is a well known Executive sushi chef and sushi instructor in Los Angeles. He has almost all the movie companies in Hollywood as customers and do also have celebrities as private clients. He has 40 years of experience as a Executive sushi chef.

Toshi has a Japanese approach to sushi and a way of life. The Japanese culture is very result-oriented when it comes to work and sport. If I pracise kendo in Japan my progress will be tested every day.

When having af teacher like Toshi there are a few Japanese rules that I must follow. When I address him I must call him Toshi sensei or sensei. Sensei means teacher in Japanese.

When I show up in his restaurant I have to say “Ohayogozaimasu” which is a way greeting each other in Japan. Toshi speaks a little English and when he speaks you must be quite. When answering Toshi you say “Hai” which means yes in Japanese. He do not wants to hear the word Yes.

Toshi will test your skills or creativity every 14 days.

In a skill test you are tested on the following,

How sharp your sushi knife is?
The level of your sushi techniques?
The presentation of the sushi you have madee?
How long it took you to make the sushi?
How clean your chef uniform is?
How clean you have kept your work space?

The result of such tests is placed on a wall in the kitchen so everyone can read it.

He will also test your performance in the sushi bar. He will look at how you work as a sushi chef and how you handle customers.

Beside thay you will also have to learn all the ingredients and raw materials in Japanese.

In 2012 I was in LA where he introduced me to a nigiri technique that takes 20 years to master.

I have learned a lot from him. When I go to LA in September I look forward to learn new things.

Read more about Sushi chef & Sake sommelier Zoë Escher

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

How strict are Japanese sushi chefs in their handling of food?

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Japanese sushi chefs are stricter when it comes to handling raw materials to sushi.

There are several reasons for this.

Japanese sushi chefs have a completely different view of sushi and, the ingredients used for sushi. Sushi is a dish that you do not fry or cook as we know from dishes such as lasagna.

Sushi is a dish that is cooked as little as possible, which means that it places greater demands on the way in which food is prepared. This applies right from the purchase of fish and vegetables, storage, freezing, preparation of raw materials and preparing the food.

Japanese sushi chefs have a more in-depth knowledge of the different fish species for sushi because it takes longer to be trained for sushi.

At Sushi course for beginners you will learn how to handle raw materials and make sushi like Japanese sushi chefs in Japan.

Read more about the Sushi course for beginners

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

What is one of the biggest challenges of a knife?

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NigiriWhen making sushi the knife play an important role.

The secret to tasty nigiri include your ability to cut fish to perfection.
The more a clean cut you can make the more tasty is nigiri pieces too. The reason is that even the smallest “wrong” section of a fish or vegetables can be tasted.

It is also important to know the structure of the fish as it has a direct impact on how clean a cut you can make. If you cut the filet the wrong way the whole filet can fall apart.

The Japanese use very few ingredients when they make nigiri and because of that you will be able to taste everything because nothing can be hidden.

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Zoë har holdt foredrag og afholdt sushikurser for A.P. Møller – Mærsk, Hugo Boss Nordic, Novo Nordisk, Novartis,Velux, Gorrissen Federspiel, Beierholm revision, Elbek & Vejrup og mange flere.

Is there a difference in the quality of sushi in Japan?

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Yes, there is a difference in quality in Japan. As in Denmark, the quality of sushi differs but the range is much bigger.

At the lowest level, you will find Running sushi, which most people outside of Japan have heard of. In Japan, most of the students eat at running sushi.

In Japan, there are several levels of gastronomy. Most people in Denmark consider three star Michelin restaurants as the highest. In Japan, the level is also very high but there is a level above Michelin restaurants. Yes, you heard right!

This is because there are restaurants that the Michelin Guide has not discovered.

There are also restaurants that are so popular that they are removed from the guide.
There are restaurants that are so in demand that they are unable to accommodate the many guests.

There are also chefs who are so high in age that they have chosen to slow down and only cook for their regular’s guests. The type of restaurants tourists rarely hear about.

Read more about Sushi course for beginners

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

Okinawa Miso Soup

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The classic Japanese cuisine is unique and different to the rest of the world.

The Japanese people are very conscious of what they eat.  In the Japanese cusine each individual dishes are composed in such a way that they either detox the body or feed the body.

There is a reason why the population of Okinawa is the longest-lived population in the world.

I have developed a unique 14 days miso soup experience where you get your health boosted. During the 14 days you will, among other things, Get your immune system strengthened, detox your body and add lots of antioxidants to your body.

The soup do also prevents cancer and improve your digestion.

Read more about what you get out of Okinawa miso soup in 14 days.

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

Can brown rice be used for sushi?

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Brown rice can be used for sushi.

In the US there are restaurants that specialize in making sushi with brown rice. In 2006, I once made brown rice sushi it was during the training for Japanese sushi chef in Los Angeles.

Sushi with brown rice has a nice taste.

However, I think there are a little too many challenges when cooking brown rice to start making sushi with brown rice.

As most people know sushi rice is already hard to cook to perfection. Sushi ris should be soft but firm. It is a texture that is hard to get right.

Brown rice is even harder to cook to perfection since the pre-cooked rice will never have the consistency the same as white sushi.

Read more about Sushi chef & sake sommelier Zoë Escher
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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, Accenture audit Elbek & Vejrup and many more.

Do Japanese sushi chefs use different types of fish than sushi restaurants in Europe?

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Japanese sushi chefs use many different types of fish than European sushi restaurants. Fish is a very popular raw material in Japanese cuisine. The Japanese learn to enjoy fish from when they are small. The Japanese eat as much fish as we eat meat in Europe.

The selection of fresh fish suitable for sushi is bigger in Japan than in Europe. This also means that it is very normal for sushi restaurants in Japan to have 15-20 different fish on the menu.

Some of the fish which is on a Japanese menu such as salmon, tuna and squid. The Japanese menu also contains local fish that can only be caught in local sea in Japan

Read more about the Sushi course for beginners

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

Can all types of sushi mats be used to make sushi?

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Unfortunately not.

The selection of sushi mats is large in Denmark. There are many different types ranging from silicone mats to Japanese sushi mats and not all of them are suitable for sushi.

Kitchen utensils made of silicone are popular and the selection is getting bigger and bigger. Within the last few years, more and more kitchenware shops have started selling sushi mats made of silicone.

Occasionally, I meet attendances who show up on my sushi class with a silicone mat under the arm for which they have paid DKK 250-300. Unfortunately, I will have to disappoint them every time.
Silicone mats are definitely unsuitable for sushi even though they are easy to clean. Silicone is a very smooth material it is very difficult to make nice sushi rolls. In addition, they do not have the same flexibility as sushi mats made of wood. It also makes it difficult to make nice and firm rolls.

At the Sushi course for beginners I tell you more about the type of sushi-eating Japanese sushi chefs. It is a sushi mat that I also sell in my web shop.

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

Do fishmongers know what type of fish is suitable for sushi?

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All fishmongers know what kind of fish is used for sushi.

It is very important to ask for fish for sushi. Fish for sushi has a completely different quality than fish to be fried.

The reason for the difference in quality of fish is that fish for sushi being eaten raw. It is very important to use top quality fish. If you eat raw fish that has become too old you may become ill.

At Sushi course for beginners I talk more about what kind of fish to buy for sushi

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

Is there a difference between Japanese knives?

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Yes, there is a huge difference between Japanese knives.

In Denmark most Japanese knives are made of stainless steel. These knives are of good quality that do not need much maintenance. But, they will never be as sharp as Japanese knives which are made in a different type of steel.

The knife blade of Japanese knives has a special design and they can become very sharp if sharpened the right way. The steel used for that type of knives affects the various raw materials. By using various cutting techniques you can emphasize the aromas, taste and quality of the raw materials for sushi.

At Sushi course for beginners you will learn how to apply the basic Japanese cutting techniques.

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