The Best Sushi Chef Job Perk: Playing With Food

By Marianne Salina

Sitting down before a sushi menu is sometimes half the fun in a Japanese dining experience. Rainbow rolls, Spider rolls, or even special San Francisco rolls (stuffed full of avocado, crab, and macadamia nuts) is enough to get your tummy grumbling. Regardless of where you take your sushi craving, you are sure to encounter a host of chefs with an extensive chef education.

Sushi Chef Career Training

In Japanese culture, becoming a sushi chef is a tremendous honor that requires years and years of chef training. Even owning the tools themselves speaks to the level of prestige involved in a sushi chef job; knives run anywhere from $20 to $1,000. Sushi making is just as much a craft as it is a culinary experience. While a chef education in Japan may take up to ten years to complete, chef training in the West is quicker and often incorporates non-traditional ingredients that aren't typically used in Japan, such as cheese. While a sushi chef education is different in the United States, you are likely to learn the following essential sushi-making skills:

Rice-cooking and preparation
Nutrition
Knife skills
Artful presentation

Sushi Chef Jobs

Before you begin a sushi chef job, it's imperative that your chef education involves a strong focus on the seaweed-wrapped rolls--Maki. With Maki-making skills, you should be prepared to create the famous California Roll or the Philadelphia Roll--a tasty concoction of smoked salmon, cucumber, and cream cheese. These skills are essential in securing a sushi chef job in the United States, where the craving for a blend of flavors is strong. Who knows? Maybe the next creative roll on the menu will have your name next to it.

Sources:
Pendharker, Leena. The Art of Sushi
Training & Courses: Features, "Something Smells Fishy"
Oetzel, Donna. "On a Roll: The New Wave in Sushi" Restaurants USA. August 1998.

About the Author
Marianne Salina is a freelance writer in Spokane, Washington. She writes about pursuits in education and degree opportunities.