I started working in the food industry at an extremely young age. My interest in food also stemmed from the fact that I spent many years as an athlete and food was fuel to me.
Initially I had attended college to pursue Graphic Design, however, once I completed my fine arts degree, I found myself looking to start a new career during the dot-com crash of early 2000.
Finding a job during the “dot-crash” of early 2k was difficult. I returned to the food industry as a means to support myself until I found something more in line with my degree. However, as time moved on, I began to lose interest in the idea of working as a commercial designer and felt that too much of what I was doing was production based and not giving much creative outlet.
I ended up at Mashiko when I offered to fill in for a friend who was leaving. I’d always had an interest in Japanese food however, at the time, I didn’t have a deep understanding of it. Hajime-san liked my focus and attention to detail and soon two weeks became 4 months.
One night Hajime pulled me aside and invited me to train to help him as a Sushi chef for the lunch hour. I felt this would be a great opportunity for me and jumped at the chance. I was very open to his teaching and having a background as an athlete, I was very competitive with myself and how quickly and efficiently I learned the skills required. I set an extremely high bar for myself and fought to achieve it. It was not an easy process and I struggled in many ways but was determined to learn the process. I wasn’t going to walk away from something because it was difficult and that was the athlete in me.
The more that I studied sushi, the less I felt that I wanted to pursue a career in graphic design. My passion for learning to be a sushi chef grew with each year I trained under Hajime.
Similar to print design, sushi allowed me to work with composition, colors, and textures but with the added element of flavor. It also freed me from the monotony of working the same menu over and over. At Mashiko I was challenged every day to find new flavors and come up with new ideas that we could explore. Once I was able to finally do omakase (a Japanese phrase that means "I'll leave it up to you...”), it was extremely rewarding to be able to develop sushi as an experience for someone. It also continues to stoke the fires of my passion for Japanese cuisine and sustainability.
As a sushi chef with Mashiko, I love that I might get to introduce someone to flavors they might not have otherwise experienced. I also enjoy when people who have lived in Japan comment on how much it reminds them of home.