Sushi on a roll in LA with opening of new Japanese culinary school

By Leanne Tsuruda

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14 Comments

OgieDoggie at 07:25 AM JST - 5th September

I can see the ads for this school now..

TAKE A BITE OUT OF CRIME AND ENROLL IN Sushi Institute of America!

Actually I think it is a great idea, cooking is still an art and we need more schools that can actually teach you a trade because the University System is broken in my opinion...alot of people graduate with a college degree but it gives you no REAL skills.
realteacher at 10:29 AM JST - 5th September

Yeah, this is all good and fine. But since fish prices are going to start shooting through the roof, and the US (and others) will actually halt sales of fish if the mercury or dioxin levels are too high (unlike Japan, who cheerfully ignores such figures), don't expect the sushi craze to continue. Particularly in the US. My question is, why did these visionary bozos wait so long? 1990 would have been a much better year for a sushi school, especially in LA, when the sushi craze really took off. As usual, the Japanese are a decade late and a dollar short. Expect bankruptcy proceedings within a year.
OssanULTRA at 12:37 AM JST - 6th September

The sushi craze isn't over in the US or the rest of the world. As far as fish prices going up that's right along with every other food ingredient. But it does seem strange that such a serious effort didn't arise earlier while every other ethnic non-Japanese asian has opened a sushi store.
motytrah at 03:54 AM JST - 6th September

Too many Sushi places in the US. A lot of them sub par. I wouldn't mind seeing some good noodle and cutlet shops though.
TokyoGas at 09:38 AM JST - 6th September

Nice to see that they have updated their website.
rjd_jr at 10:44 AM JST - 6th September

Who's to say there wasn't any form of sushi making class back in the early 90's and such? This article doesn't say that this is the first sushi making/Japanese culinary school, period. I mean, Chinese food is now as American as apple pie, and when's the last time anyone's seen a Chinese culinary school with the amount of training this Japanese culinary school offers? Perhaps as motytrah alludes to, there are so many sushi/Japanese restaurants now all over the place compared to before that they decided to finally have this standardized cooking training.
escape_artist at 12:27 PM JST - 6th September

Well, we've got the fake crab. Is the fake tuna coming soon, too?

Sushi & sashimi aren't all tuna, of course, but this can't bode well for the tuna stocks worldwide. Not to mention other fish, as realteacher suggests.

I also agree that Japan seems a bit late here, trying to ride a wave that's already broken on shore, meaning sand in the mouth, no? With the US & global economies still on a downward slide, it doesn't seem that exotic items like sushi are where most people will be spending their money. Unless the Japanese owners are going after the upper crust as seems to be the case in Japan. Luxury items and brand-name goods never seem to go out of style here, no matter what shape the economy's in. And you can bet whoever studies at this school won't be learning to open a small kaitenzushi joint in the suburbs, either.
dogbert at 03:49 AM JST - 9th September

The problem is that almost 80% of the "cheap" and lower quality so called "sushi" restaurants you see in any city in western countries like N. America or Australia/Europe are run and owned by Koreans or Chinese who have no formal training or appreciation for sushi and Japanese cuisine in the truest sense of artform. They are just capitalizing on the popularity of Japanese cuisine which carries an aura and image of "chic" and "hip" as opposed to Chinese which is more or less cheap, take-out, greasy fast food or Korean food which hardly is known by anyone in the world at all and is still considered too "strange" to be widely accepted.

The result of having these Korean business people (I refuse to use the word "chef" because they are not chefs. They are purely in it for money only...not for the sake of appreciation for the tradition of sushi making) bastardize the epitome and highlight of Japan's culinary culture is a plethora of sub-par, nasty-tasting sushi that westerners will unfortunately mistakenly think of being representative of the real thing. However, those foreigners who have actually gone and spent time in Japan and can recognize the difference between real sushi and the crap that most of these fake restaurants serve will be able to call BS. It's actually very easy to spot these fake restaurants run by Koreans or Chinese b/c the name of the restaurant will be so typically cheesy..names like "Banzai", "Ichiban", "Geisha", "Godzilla", "Osaka", "Mt. Fuji"..names which no Japanese in his/her right mind would ever use for their restaurant. I avoid these places like the plague. Also, if you ever see kimchi or egg rolls being served at a sushi restaurant...you definitely should head for the door.
Thenewfront at 03:59 AM JST - 9th September

DogBert- Your post is designed to promote anger amonst Chinese and Koreans, very bad form.

Japanese food in the States by Japanese is very expensive, that`s why other Asian people make it.

A lot of these restaurants are of extremely low hygiene standards. I had a friend in the States who cheked Restaurants abd cafe`s were meeting standards.

He said Japanese, Chinese and Korean eateries were as bad as each other in hygiene standars. The food by Japanese is also usually changed for foreign tastes, unless it is in an area frequented by Japanese tourists, and it can charge premium prices.

Looking down on other nations people is offensive, especially ,a s we are all the same.
dogbert at 04:08 AM JST - 9th September

Thenewfront,

Sorry if I offended you with my post as that was not my intention.
In any case, the bottom line is that this is true. Too many fake sushi restaurants are popping up and ruining the image of true sushi cuisine.
Thenewfront at 04:15 AM JST - 9th September

dogbert- Ok, i understand. I dont know so much about Sushi restaurants, where im from (London) Sushsi bars open everywhere it seems, with hardly any Asian employees.

Never tried them, as the prices are too high, but i heard LA sushi bars, make up menus as the go along, don`t know if that refers to Japanese or foreign places.

I think Japanese should learn how to make authentic sushi, but also gain enough knowledge that they can make up new dishes themselves, and make a seperate part of the menu for that. The food needs to keep its traditional elements , but also evolve with new tastes and styles.
OssanULTRA at 07:05 AM JST - 10th September

DogBert- Your post is designed to promote anger amonst Chinese and >Koreans, very bad form. Japanese food in the States by Japanese is very expensive, that`s why >other Asian people make it.

I disagree. Other Asians make it because it's lucrative. Chinese food, not the really good stuff but the cheap take-out kind has been around in the US for as long as anyone can remember, and being cheap is one of it's attractions. The first Japanese Sushi restaurant in NYC opened 1976 and it was during the heyday of Japanese economic might of 1980s that most us became acquainted with Sushi, both directly and through Hollywood movies. It started off and continues to be upper crust chic that's going to cost you a bundle for good stuff. Another reason that other Asians make it is because most folks here can't tell the difference between differnt Asian ethnicities so it's pretty easy to open a "sushi bar".

Looking down on other nations people is offensive, especially ,a s we >are all the same.

I don't think the poster was looking "down" at anybody. But he was certainly telling the truth about the global sushi craze.
fatloser at 12:05 PM JST - 10th September

Butchers that's what they are butchers!!!! They hack a fish to pieces and people call it art??
OssanULTRA at 11:50 PM JST - 10th September

"Butchers that's what they are butchers!!!! They hack a fish to pieces and people call it art??"

No they call it "food".