Becoming a Sushi Chef

So you want to become a sushi chef?

Well lets get started.  First off you will need to figure out where you stand in the realm of food and cooking knowledge.  Lets assume you are at the very beginning stages of learning how to cook just so we can run through the whole process.

You are first going to want to sign up for some basic cooking and nutrition classes just to get a feel for cooking and some basic techniques of chopping, peeling vegetables, mixing, etc. 

A good place to find these classes is often at a local community college, they provide all types of different classes, you can also search online for classes, videos, or even some basic do it yourself websites.  Once you are setup with this you are going to want to make sure you pay attention and practice as much as possible. 

This may also open you up to some other areas of cooking that you may not have been aware of.  It is always good to have solid and broad foundation to start out with before you dive into the more advances and expertise niches of cooking.

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Once you master the basics you are now going to want to move onto the sushi niche of preparing food.  A good place to start is your local library or bookstore, there are tons of books that go over the preparation of sushi and you can read, learn and practice at your own place.  If you are lucky you may also be able to find local classes in your community or possibly a local sushi restaurant giving lessons once a month.

Now after you have you basic food knowledge and basic sushi preparation knowledge under your belt you are going to start looking for your first job.  Your fist job will probably not be much and not be too rewarding but you should be able to find a job as an assistant cook at least.  The pay will not be well but you will learn tons of valuable information and techniques.  When you are out looking for jobs be sure to mention all of your training up to this point and your desire to become a chef one day, they will love to hear that.

OK, so now you have been working as a cook or assistant cook for awhile and are hopefully making your way up the ladder and you should be able to make it up pretty high on the food chain as long and you continue to stay dedicated and work hard.  Unfortunately there is usually only one head chef at a restaurant so what do you do?  Well you are probably going to need to open up your own restaurant which can done a variety of ways. 

The easiest way, which all depends on luck, is by asking friends and family members to help finance your new place, you do not need to buy your own building but should be able to lease out a space for a few thousand dollars a month depending on where you live.  However if you are not lucky enough to have friends and family who can help you out there are still other ways which require more hard work, but will make the taste of victory even sweeter once you achieve it.

While you are working at your restaurant do all you can to save money, give classes on the weekends charging a small fee, make videos online and post them on youtube, put together your own guide and try to sell it, make your own website, there are tons of ways you can make extra money by using what you already know, you just need to make the effort.

Also after working at the restuarant make sure you have a good understanding of where the food comes from, how its ordered, and how its kept.

We hope these helps and wish you well on your journey to becoming a sushi chef!