43-“So What Does All This Mean for You as a Guest?”
When you sit at my counter or stand at my kitchen island during class,
you might not see all of this history.
You see a tray of fish.
You see rice, wasabi, a sharp knife.
You see me smiling and saying, “Let’s make sushi together.”
But behind each piece of nigiri I hand you,
there are:
Years of structured training
Hundreds of hours of practice
A final exam that many professionals would prefer not to take
And a personal commitment not to rely on “vibes,”
but on repeatable technique
There may be no official government license that says
“this person is a sushi chef.”
So instead, I let my training, my discipline,
and your own experience at my class
speak on my behalf.
Every time I shape a piece of sushi and place it in front of a guest,
I’m not just serving food.
I’m putting all of that investment—
the late nights, the exams, the quiet doubts, the quiet confidence—
right there on the plate.
And when I hear:
“This is the best sushi I’ve ever had,”
“I can’t believe I made this with my own hands,”
I know that choosing to go through that intense training
was worth every second.
There may be no formal license required to be a sushi chef.
But for me, the true qualification is simple:
Can I honor your trust—
with every single piece I serve?